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THE 



GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE 



OF THE STATE OF 



MINNESOTA 



BY 



JEEEMIAH S. YOUNG PhD 

TEACHER OF HISTORY AND CIVIL GOVEBN MENT ' IN ' THE STATE 
NORMAL SCHOOL, MANKATO, MINNESOTA 




NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA 

HINDS, NOBLE & ELDBEDGE 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 
JAN 4 1907 

CUSS AXXcf.Nfc 1 
COPY B. 



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Copyright 1906 
By HINDS, NOBLE & ELDKEDGE 



PREFACE. 



In the preparation of this book, the aim has been, not 
merely to present a hand-book of condensed facts, but 
through interest and suggestion, to stimulate both teacher 
and pupils to make individual investigations. In accord- 
ance with this view, the school library should be provided 
with Revised Laws, 1905, the current number of the Leg- 
islative Manual, and at least one of the various histories 
of Minnesota. 

The teacher and pupils should make a collection of 
primary, convention and election calls, official ballots, 
blanks used by various officers, and the official reports of 
state and local officers. In the study of government 
nothing can take place of the constitution, hence, nu- 
merous references have been given to this instrument. The 
pupils should be led to discover, as far as possible, the 
principles of government by their own thought and labor. 
To use the " Studies " profitably, will require much con- 
scientious preparation.. The teacher should encourage in- 
telligent observation of all those things with which the 
citizen has to do in every-day life. That knowledge of 
government is valueless which does not inspire the pupil 
and reader to the performance of civic duties ; which does 
not lead them to realize that intelligent obedience to le- 
gally constituted authority is the fundamental basis of 
patriotism. 

iii 



IV PREFACE. 

Criticisms, suggestions and questions that may occur to 
those who use this book will be received in the professional 
spirit. 

The author desires to express his obligations to General 
James H. Baker, Mr. Samuel B. Wilson, County Attorney 
for Blue Earth County; Senator Adolph 0. Eberhart, Mr. 
Clayton I. Kennedy, Deputy County Auditor for Blue 
Earth County, and to his colleagues, President Charles H. 
Cooper, Miss Carolyn Bobbins, and Miss Alice V. Bobbins. 

J. S. Y. 

Marikato State Normal School, 
Marikato, Minnesota. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Introduction 7 

II. Historical Sketch of Minnesota -12 

III. The State Government 32 

IV. Local Government 57 

V. Public Revenue 69 

VI. Public Education 76 

VII. Benevolent, Penal and Reformatory Institutions 88 

VIII. Elections 94 

The State Constitution 102 

Appendix 144 

Index 148 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Alexander Ramsey 10 

Fort Snelling 16 

Henry H. Sibley 22 

The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota .... 32 

The State Capitol at St. Paul 35 

City Hall, Minneapolis 57 

High School, Duluth 79 

State University, Minneapolis 85 



THE 

CIVIL GOVERNMEMT 

OF 

MINNESOTA. 

— o — 
CHAPTER 1. 
INTRODUCTION. 

1. " A State is a political community of free citizens 
occupying a territory of defined boundaries, organized un- 
der a government sanctioned and limited by a written con- 
stitution, and established by the consent of the- people. 
Each state or commonwealth maintains a republican form 
of government which is guaranteed by the United States." 

In an analysis of the above definition the following 
points are prominent: 

(1) The Land, 

(2) The 'People, 

(3) The Laws, 

(4) The Government. 

The civil government of Minnesota, or of any state, 
must consider the people an organized unit, having a 
designated abode and having officers chosen to enact and 
administer laws according to the will of the people. The 
objects of civil government are (1) to secure justice and 
(2) to advance the interests of the common weal. 

2. The Land. — In this age, wandering tribes, held 
together by a community of interests only, do not consti- 

7 



8 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

tute a state. Since the introduction of agriculture the 
people have become more and more attached to some 
particular locality. A fixed abode has fostered the home 
and family sentiment. The land, then, as the theatre of 
the people's activities, is one of the permanent elements 
of the state. The name Minnesota designates not only 
the political organization of free citizens, but also the 
land comprised within certain specified limits. 1 

The character of the land — its fertility, resources, lo- 
cation and extent — determines the occupations of the 
people. The occupations of the people, together with 
their former training, determine the form of government 
for the state. 

A state with fertile soil and favorable climate, exten- 
sive forests of timber, and vast stores of minerals, re- 
quires a form of government and special laws that will 
regulate agriculture, lumbering, and mining. The special 
laws of a state containing a navigable river will probably 
pertain to commerce. 

The chief resources of Minnesota are (1) a fertile soil 
and (2) a variety of minerals. These resources indicate 
the occupations of the people, and the occupations in turn 
indicate' the special character of the laws of the state. 

3. The People. — The habits and customs of the peo- 
ple, their former political training and education, modi- 
fied by the physical environment, indicate the peculiar 
form of laws which a free state will possess. Many states 
contributed to the pioneer population of Minnesota. The 
middle and northern states east of the Mississippi fur- 
nished a large number, hence the political ideas of the 
people from those states have been re-enacted in this 
state. 

Even after the government has been organized the sub- 
sequent laws at any given time will depend on the train- 

1 See Constitution, Art. II., Sect. 1. 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

ing, temper and needs of the people who constitute the 
citizenship of the state. The laws of Minnesota differ 
from those of Massachusetts; those of California, from 
those of Iowa. They differ because the people have dif- 
ferent needs, and have different ideas concerning laws. 

It is necessary to study the history of the people as a 
basis for any work on civil government. 

4. The Laws. — The laws of Minnesota are either en- 
acted directly by the people or indirectly by the repre- 
sentatives of the people. The people enact the organic 
or fundamental law of the state. This law is called the 
constitution. It describes the framework of the govern- 
ment, the powers and duties of officers and the rights of 
the people. The constitution can be changed only by 
the will of the people ; no officer can change it. 

The constitution provides for its own amendment by 
the people, that it may be adequate for the constantly 
widening demands of society. 

Throughout the constitution such expressions as, " un- 
less otherwise provided by law " and " as shall be pro- 
vided by law " occur frequently. In this way authority 
is given to the legislature to enact laws for the people. 
These are called statutory laws. They must not conflict 
with the organic law enacted directly by the people. Stat- 
utory law, especially that enacted by the first legislature, 
is very important. Many of these laws provide for the 
regulation of mining, lumbering, agriculture, and stock- 
raising, for, next to the freedom of the people, these are 
the subjects of greatest importance. 

The laws of the state are the constitutional law, the 
statutory laws, the interpretation of the courts, and that 
which cannot be expressed in written form — the character 
of the people. It should be understood that back of the 
laws, to give them authority, and back of the government 
to make it efficient, is the will of the people. 

5. The Government. — By means of the ballot the peo- 



10 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

pie elect representatives or officers. Theoretically, officers 
are only individuals in the state; practically, however, 
while invested by the people with civil authority they 
constitute the government. The government is concerned 




Alexander Ramsey, 
First Governor of Minnesota Territory. 

with enacting, administering, and interpreting laws. 
While acting as the government, officers are held strictly 
responsible for their official acts. They may be impeached 
and tried for malfeasance in office. 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

6. The constitution and the laws of Minnesota must 
not conflict with the constitution and the laws of the 
United States; but the government of the state is supreme 
within its sphere. Questions of national policy often 
overshadow local questions, but home government in the 
school district, in the town, in the county and in the state 
has more to do than national government with matters re- 
lating to the home, the family, and the daily life of the 
citizen. 1 Through a thorough understanding of local 
affairs the citizen readily comprehends the needs of the 
national government. Active participation in the govern- 
ment of small local units should be the watchword of every 
citizen. It is only in this way that this will be " a gov- 
ernment of the people, by the people, and for the people." 

1 " It will not be denied that the state government touches the 
citizen and his interests twenty times, where the national govern- 
ment touches him once." — James A. Garfield. 

" An American may, through a long life, never be reminded of 
the federal government, except when he votes at presidential or 
congressional elections, lodges a complaint against the post-office, 
and opens his trunk for a custom-house officer on the pier at New 
York when he returns from a tour in Europe. His direct taxes 
are paid to officials acting under state laws. The state, or a 
local authority constituted by the state statutes, registers his 
birth, appoints his guardian, pays for his schooling, gives him a 
share in the estate of his father deceased, marries him, divorces 
him, entertains civil action against him, declares him a bankrupt, 
hangs him for murder. The police that guard his house, the local 
boards which look after the poor, control highways, impose water 
rates, manage schools — all these derive their legal powers from 
the state alone." — Bryce's American Commonwealth. 



CHAPTEE II. 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 



7. Minnesota ("sky-tinted water ") is situated in the 
center of North America; latitude 43 degrees 30 minutes 
and 49 degrees 24 minutes north; longitude 89 degrees 
29 minutes and 97 degrees 15 minutes west. 1 The state 
extending 400 miles from north to south and 354 miles 
from east to west contains 84,287 square miles of terri- 
tory of about 53,943,379 acres, and includes the source 
of three great river systems, those flowing northward into 
Hudson Bay, eastward into the Atlantic Ocean, and south- 
ward into the Gulf of Mexico. In area Minnesota ranks 
as the ninth state. 

The territory included in this vast area was acquired 
by the United States in two tracts: the territory east 
of the Mississippi Eiver was ceded by Great Britain in 
1783; the territory west of the Biver was purchased from 
France in 1803. 2 

EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT. 

8. The French. — The French were the first Europeans 
to appear in the territory of Minnesota. In 1534 James 
Cartier, a Frenchman, discovered the St. Lawrence Biver 
and explored it as far as Quebec and the next year reached 

i See Constitution of Minnesota, Art. II, Sect. 1. 
2 See Fiske's Critical Period for a history of the western land 
claims. 

12 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 13 

Montreal. After these explorations the French claimed 
all the territory drained by the St. Lawrence. Nearly a 
century later the King of France granted the St. Law- 
rence country to a company whose leader was Champlain, 
the founder of Quebec. Champlain's encounter with the 
Iroquois Indians on the south and the English claims 
to the Hudson Bay Country on the north, confined the 
French explorations within somewhat narrow limits. 

Champlain explored the Ottawa Eiver and the Georgian 
Bay to Lake Huron in 1613-15. In 1641 Jogues and 
Boymbault, the Jesuits, reached Sault Ste. Marie where 
they heard of the powerful Dakotas and the Mississippi 
Eiver. Eighteen years later Groselliers and Badisson en- 
tered the present State of Minnesota and spent some time 
in the " forty villages of the Dakotas " near Mille Lacs. 
They were undoubtedly the first white men to see Minne- 
sota. On their return to France they gave the world the 
first account of the land of the Dakotas. 

In 1661 Bene Menard descending the Wisconsin Eiver 
reached the Mississippi and lost his life in missionary 
work among the Indians. Two years later Father Claude 
Allouez explored the shores of Lake Superior and estab- 
lished the mission of the Holy Spirit at La Pointe in 
Wisconsin. Sieur Duluth entered Minnesota in 1679, and 
on July 2, near Mille Lacs, reported that " he planted 
his Majesty's arms where a Frenchman never had been." 
Bobert La Salle in a full rigged vessel, named the Grif- 
fin, set sail on Lake Erie to explore the west in 1679. 
After many hardships the expedition, having taken to 
canoes, reached Lake Peoria near the Illinois Eiver and 
named the place Crevecoeur (broken heart). At this 
point La Salle decided to divide the party. He was 
to explore the Mississippi to its mouth which was reached 
in 1682. Father Hennepin was to explore the upper Mis- 
sissippi thus completing the French claim to the Missis- 
sippi valley. Hennepin, a native of Holland, after many 



14 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

adventures, if his story be true, explored the Eiver and 
discovered the Falls of St. Anthony. He then returned 
to Europe where he died. Le Sueur in the autumn of 
1700 sailed up the Minnesota Eiver x to the mouth of the 
Blue Earth near the present site of Mankato. Here he 
established a post and returned with four thousand 
pounds of " blue earth " which was assayed at Paris for 
copper. The earliest French explorers simply skirted the 
edges of the state; but Duluth, Father Hennepin, and Le 
Sueur pushed into the interior of the territory. 

9. The English.— The English entered the New World 
by the Atlantic plain south of the St. Lawrence. It 
took something over a century to somewhat compactly 
settle westward to the mountains; but by the middle of 
the eighteenth century the English were crossing the 
mountains and contesting with the French for the su- 
premacy of the Ohio valley on the basis of the " sea to 
sea clauses " of their early charters. The French and 
Indian War routed the French. They were compelled to 
retire from the New World having lost nearly all of their 
colonial empire in the treaty of Paris, 1763. By this 
treaty, England fell heir to all the French possessions in 
the New World east of the Mississippi except four small 
islands. Spain received the remainder of the French 
claims which included the territory west of the Mississippi. 

England did not remain in undisturbed possession of 
her newly won lands. Just twenty years later she ceded 
the territory east of the Mississippi, south of the Great 
Lakes and north of the Floridas to her thirteen revolted 
colonies. England did not thoroughly occupy her new 
possessions in the northwest because of the continued un- 
friendliness of both the French and the Indians. 

i The French explorers named the river the St. Pierre which 
the English changed to St. Peter. By act of congress this name 
was changed to the Minnesota in 1852. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 15 

The only English exploration worth noting in this short 
sketch is that of Jonathan Carver, who left Boston un- 
der the partial authority of England in 1766, to explore 
the northwest. He visited the St. Anthony Palls country 
and ascended the St. Peter or Minnesota Eiver to the 
mouth of the Cottonwood Eiver. The account of Carver's 
trip was published at Dublin in 1779. In his book is 
given some account of the Indians and the flora and fauna 
of this state. 1 

10. The Americans. — The territory east of the Missis- 
sippi came into the possession of the United States in 
1783; that west of the Eiver in 1803. The French placed 
obstacles in the way of English occupation of the north- 
west after the treaty of 1763. The English did the same 
with the Americans after 1783. The Americans had a 
threefold object in sending out future expeditions: (1) 
tc check the English; (2) to restrain the Indians; (3) 
to acquaint themselves with this almost unknown land. 
The first effort in this direction was a small military ex- 
pedition sent by the government under the direction of 
Zebulon M. Pike in 1805. Through his effort the mili- 
tary reservation at the mouth of the Minnesota Eiver was 
obtained from the Indians. He went as far north as 
Leech Lake. There was a cessation of these expeditions 
for a time on account of the war of 1812; but in 1817 
Major Stephen H. Long of the corps of Engineers made 
a trip from St. Louis to St. Anthony Palls. Two years 
later Colonel Leavenworth established Cold Water Can- 
tonment at Mendota. Fort St. Anthony was built by 
Colonel Josiah Snelling in 1820. The name was changed 
to Ft. Snelling in honor of its builder in 1824 at the 

i A cave within the limits of the city of St. Paul is named for 
Carver. In later years Carver's heirs claimed large tracts of land 
in the west on a basis of a so-called treaty made with the Indians 
during this expedition. These claims were not allowed. 



16 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 



suggestion of General Winfield Scott. Gen. Lewis Cass, 
then governor of Michigan territory, visited eastern Min- 
nesota in 1819. He entered the state at Duluth, ex- 
plored the lake which now bears his name, and proceeded 
to the month of the Minnesota where he urged peace upon 
the assembled Indians. The government seeking more 
knowledge of this western country organized another ex- 
pedition under Major Stephen H. Long in 1823. He went 
almost entirely around the state by way of the Minnesota 
Eiver, Big Stone Lake, Eed Eiver, Lake of the Woods, 




and Eainy Lake to Lake Su- 
perior. The best scientific 
results were yielded by the 
expeditions of Schoolcraft, 
1832 ; George Catlin and G. W. Featherstonehaugh, 1835 ; 
Jean Nicollet, 1836; and David D. Owen, 1847. 

11. Settlements. — Trappers, hunters, scouts and mis- 
sionaries are the forerunners of the builders of forts; the 
builders of forts and the defenders of the frontier blaze 
the way for a subsequent civilization. 

The first French explorers of Minnesota were mission- 
aries. These men were zealous for converting the In- 
dians, softening and refining the rough natures of the 
hardy traders and pioneers. The map of Minnesota is 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 17 

plentifully sprinkled with the word Saint which testifies 
to the Catholic enthusiasm of such persons as Menard, 
Allouez and Father Hennepin. 

It was not until the nineteenth century that the Protes- 
tants succeeded in establishing missions. Eev. W. T. 
Boutwell went to Leech Lake in 1833 where he established 
a mission. In 1834 two brothers, Eev. Samuel W. Pond 
and Eev. Gideon H. Pond, began their ministrations near 
Lake Calhoun. The next year Eev. J. D. Stevens and 
wife located a mission at Lake Harriet. Both these mis- 
sions were within the present city of Minneapolis. In 
1843 the Eev. S. E. Eiggs established a mission at Tra* 
verse des Sioux near the present city of St. Peter. 

The fur trade furnished one of the motives for the ex- 
ploration and occupation of the west. The French held 
a monopoly of this trade for many years with headquarters 
at Montreal. Those licensed to carry on this trade hired 
boatmen to push up the streams to the most remote Indian 
villages. These boatmen were called Coureurs des bois. At 
the close of the French and Indian war this trade fell into 
the hands of the English. The trade was handled almost 
exclusively by the Hudson Bay Company until 1783, when 
a powerful rival was organized — the Xorthwest Company. 
In 1816 congress passed a law excluding foreigners from 
the Indian trade'. In 1809 Lord Selkirk was granted, 
by the Hudson Bay Company, the privilege of making a 
settlement at Pembina in the Eed Eiver valley. This 
action was resented by the United States as an infringe- 
ment of its sovereignty and the result was the establishment 
of Ft. Snelling. In 1837 small settlements appeared in 
the St. Croix valley. The first log house was built on 
the present site of St. Paul, 1838. The settlement at 
Stillwater was made in 1843 and at St. Anthony in 1847. 
Two years later Minnesota was organized as a territory 
with a population of 4,940.. 



18 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA- BEFORE 1858. 

12. Before 1849. — All the territory included within 
the present limits of Minnesota was nominally under the 
jurisdiction of France until 1763. That part of the state 
east of the Mississippi was under the control of England 
from 1763 to 1783 ; that west of the Eiver was under the 
jurisdiction of Spain from 1763 to 1803; but there were 
no permanent settlements during this period, therefore 
the governmental institutions of the state are entirely 
American. 

The part east of the Mississippi was at different times 
included in the territories; of the Northwest, (1787); 
Indiana, (1800); Michigan, (1805) ; Illinois, (1809); 
Michigan again, (1819) ; Wisconsin, (1836) and Minne- 
sota, (1849). The part west of the Eiver belonged suc- 
cessively to the province of Louisiana, (1803) ; Louisiana 
District, (1804) ; Louisiana Territory, (1805) ; Missouri, 
(1812) ; Michigan, (1819) ; Wisconsin, (1836) ; Iowa, 
(1838); and Minnesota, (1849). 

In spite of the fact that Minnesota was under so many 
different jurisdictions there was no provision made for 
local officials until Ft. Snelling was established. In 1819 
Minnesota was attached to Michigan and the territory 
between the St. Croix and the Mississippi was organized 
as Crawford county. A sheriff and judicial officers were 
provided for; but white inhabitants could not be found 
to fill the offices. In 1836 Minnesota was attached to 
Wisconsin, and Crawford county was changed to St. Croix 
county by the legislature in 1840; but complete reorgani- 
zation did not take place until 1847. Stillwater became 
the county seat and in June 1847 Judge Dunn held a 
term of the United States district court, the first na- 
tional court held within the limits of Minnesota. In 
1838 the part of Minnesota west of the Mississippi was 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 19 

attached to Iowa ; but Iowa and Wisconsin were admitted 
into the Union in 1846 and 1848 respectively. By the 
admission of these states with their present boundaries 
congress left Minnesota with no provision for govern- 
ment. Most of the settlers lived between the St. Croix 
and the Mississippi. They held a public meeting at Still- 
water August 26, 1848, to determine whether they were 
still under the laws of Wisconsin territory. The former 
secretary of the territory of Wisconsin sent a letter advis- 
ing that those parts of Wisconsin territory that had not 
been included in the new state of Wisconsin still con- 
stituted Wisconsin territory. Mr. John Catlin the former 
secretary of Wisconsin moved his residence from Madison 
to Stillwater and as acting governor of the surviving 
territory issued a proclamation October 9, calling a spe- 
cial election to fill the vacancy in the office of delegate 
to congress. The election was held October 30, 1848, 
and resulted in the choice of H. H. Sibley who proceeded 
at once to Washington where he was, by courtesy, allowed 
to occupy a seat on the floor of the House of Representa- 
tives. Acting on the suggestion of Mr. Sibley, Senator 
Stephen A. Douglass prepared a bill providing for the 
organization of Minnesota territory. Many unsuccessful 
efforts. were made to entangle the bill in the great slavery 
controversy; but the act passed March 3, 1849, and Min- 
nesota territory was organized with the Missouri Eiver as 
its western boundary. 

13. Minnesota as a Territory. — The organic act x cre- 
ating the territory of Minnesota provided for a governor, 2 
a secretary, a chief-justice, two associate justices, a dis- 
trict attorney, and a marshal, all to be appointed by the 

1 The organic act should be carefully studied. See Legislative 
Manual, 1905, p. 13. 

2 The first governor of the territory was Alexander Ramsey of 
Pennsylvania. June 1, 1849, he issued a proclamation declaring 
the new government duly organized. 



20 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

President of the United States for the term of four 
years and paid out of the treasury of the United States. 

The governor was commander-in-chief of the militia. 
He would execute the laws; grant pardons for offenses 
against the laws of the territory; reprieves for offenses 
against those of the United States with the final deci- 
sion in the hands of the President; and issue commis- 
sions to all persons appointed under the laws of the ter- 
ritory. In addition to this he acted as Indian agent of 
the central government for which he received an addi- 
tional salary. The secretary was required to record the 
acts of the executive; preserve all laws made by the 
legislature; send copies of the executives proceedings and 
legislative enactments to the President and congress; and 
act as governor of the territory in case necessity should 
require it. The legislative power was vested in the gov- 
ernor and a legislative assembly. This body was divided 
into two houses — a Council of nine members,, to serve 
for two years and a House of Eepresentatives of eighteen 
members, to serve for one 3^ear. The judicial power was 
vested in four grades of courts: justice courts, probate 
courts, district courts, and one supreme court. 1 There 
was a clause in the Organic Act providing for a delegate 
to congress. 2 St. Paul 3 was made the temporary capital ; 

i The supreme court was organized at St. Paul with Aaron 
Goodrich as chief justice and Daniel Cooper and Bradley B. 
Meeker as associates. The governor divided the territory into 
three judicial districts with a justice of the supreme court as- 
signed to each. In the month of August, 1849, a term of the 
district court was held at Stillwater, St. Anthony and Mendota. 

2 August 1, 1849, an election by ballot was ordered for mem- 
bers of the legislative assembly; also for a delegate to congress. 
At this election H. H. Sibley was elected delegate without oppo- 
sition, 682 votes being cast. The legislature met September 3, 
1849, and enacted a civil and criminal code. 

3 There was a sharp struggle over the permanent location of 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 21 

liberal provision was made for public buildings and for the 
establishment of the public schools. The inhabitants were 
guaranteed all the privileges that they possessed as in- 
habitants of Wisconsin territory. The people felt secure 
as they were now under the strong arm of the central 
government. 

The government for the territory being established, the 
next step was to secure the Indian title to the land. In 
June 1850, preliminary steps were taken in a great coun- 
cil held at Ft. Snelling. But the year 1851 is memorable 
for the making of treaties by which the United States 
came into possession of the lands of Minnesota. Gov. 
Eamsey, the Indian agent, and Luke Lea, the^ United 
States Commissioner of Indian Affairs, made three treaties 
as follows: at Traverse des Sioux, July 23; at Mendota, 
August 5, and at Pembina. The last treaty was not rati- 
fied until May 5, 1864. These treaties opened Minnesota 
to settlement. People came in such numbers that the 
census of 1857 gave the territory a population of 150,037. 
Minnesota now sought admission into the Union. 1 

MINNESOTA AS A STATE. 

14. Organization of the State. — The admission of 
new states into the Union is provided for in the con- 
stitution of the United States; but the conditions and 
mode of admission are left to be prescribed by congress. 

the territorial institutions. In 1851, by a compromise, the 
capital was located at St. Paul; the penitentiary at Stillwater; 
and the university at St. Anthony. The first capitol was com- 
pleted in 1853 but was destroyed by fire in 1881. The second 
capitol was completed in 1883. In 1893 provision was made for 
a new capitol, to cost $2,000,000. This magnificent structure was 
completed in 1905. 

i For a list of the territorial governors see Appendix, p. 144. 
For other officers of the territory see Legislative Manual, 1905, 

pp. 95-7. 



22 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

The people of the United States were in the midst of 
the slavery struggle when Minnesota applied for admission 
into the Union. Up to 1850 half the States were slave 
and half free. The admission of California broke the 




Henry H. Sibley, 
First Governor of the State of Minnesota 

"balance." The Kansas-Nebraska bill only emphasized 
the strife. The admission of Minnesota would add an- 
other free state. This was not favored by the members 
of congress from the South. But on February 26, con- 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 23 

gress passed an act to enable Minnesota to frame a con- 
stitution preparatory to admission into the Union. 1 The 
boundaries of the proposed state were indicated; concur- 
rent jurisdiction on boundary waters was guaranteed to 
Minnesota; all the navigable streams were designated as 
common highways and navigation made free to the in- 
habitants of the state and to all citizens of the United 
States; and the details of calling the constitutional con- 
vention were specified. Five propositions were then sub- 
mitted to the voters for their free acceptance or rejec- 
tion which if accepted were to be binding upon the United 
States and the state: (1) sections sixteen and thirty- 
six in every township were granted for the benefit of the 
public schools; 2 (2) seventy-two sections, for the endow- 
ment of a state university; (3) ten sections, for public 
buildings; (4) all the salt springs (not to exceed twelve) 
and six sections of land adjoining each, to remain under 
the control of the state; (5) and five per cent of the net 
proceeds arising from the sale of public lands, for the 
benefit of internal improvements. These propositions 
were submitted on the following conditions: (1) the 
state was never to interfere with the disposal of the pub- 
lic lands; (2) nor tax the lands belonging to the United 
States; (3) nor tax non-resident proprietors higher than 
residents. 

In June 1857, the delegates 3 to the constitutional 
convention were elected and as there was much uncer- 
tainty respecting the boundaries and election districts, 



i This is known as an enabling act. Students should read it 
carefully. See Legislative Manual, 1905, p. 20. 

2 Minnesota was the first state carved out of the public domain 
that received two sections in every township for the benefit of 
the public schools. Those states admitted before 1858 received 
only one section. 

3 For list of members, See Legislative Manual, 1905, p. 98. 



24 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

many charges and counter-charges were made in regard 
to fraud. Fifty-nine republicans and fifty-three demo- 
crats were chosen. The enabling act designated July 13 
as the day for the constitutional convention to convene 
but did not specify the hour. Partisan political feeling 
was so intense that the republicans assembled at mid- 
night on the day designated and proceeded to organize; 
the democrats did the same at noon, each claiming to be 
the legal constitutional convention. This farce was con- 
tinued for some time when a conference committee met 
and agreed that each division of the convention should 
adopt the same constitution. The constitution 1 was com- 
pleted and adopted by the convention August 29, 1857. 
On October 30, the people adopted the constitution by 
the decisive vote of 30,005 yeas to 571 nays. After pro- 
longed opposition congress passed the act admitting Min- 
nesota into the Union May 11, 1858. 2 

Not willing to wait for the final formalities of admis- 
sion into the Union, the people while voting on the adop- 
tion of the constitution elected state officers and repre- 
sentatives to the National House of Eepresentatives. 3 H. 

1 The constitution of Minnesota is among the longest of the 
state constitutions. Since the constitution is the chief source 
from which a knowledge of state government is gained it is con- 
stantly referred to in connection with the text. There are fifteen 
articles, the essential contents of which may be outlined as fol- 
lows: (1) Preamble; (2) Enacting clause; (3) Organization of 
the Government, with powers of each department; (4) Organiza- 
tion of the state or the suffrage qualifications; (5) Bill of rights; 
(6) Amending clause; (7) Schedule arranging for the transfer 
from territorial to state government. 

2 See Legislative Manual, 1905, p. 64. 

3 J. M. Cavanaugh, W. W. Phelph and George L. Becker were 
chosen. But the population was not sufficient for three represen- 
tatives and lots were cast. Mr. Becker was unsuccessful. For 
list of Minnesota senators and representatives in congress since 
1858 see Legislative Manual, 1905, pp. 106-7. A state seal was 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 25 

H. Sibley was elected governor. In December the legisla- 
ture met and elected Henry M. Eice and James Shields 
United States senators. Some opposition to the seating 
of these congressmen arose in both houses. This was 
based on the ground that only states could send congress- 
men. It was claimed that these persons were chosen while 
Minnesota was still in the territorial period; but this 
technical opposition was withdrawn and the congressmen 
were seated when Minnesota was declared a state. 

15. Minnesota in Military Affairs.— Minnesota en- 
tered the Union during the prelude to the Civil War. 
In 1861 the gathering storm broke and the American 
people were plunged into fraternal strife. Minnesota did 
yeoman service in the cause of the Union. This is easily 
explained: (1) there were many settlers from the older 
states in the East but these states were all located in the 
North and were opposed to slavery; (2) the remainder of 
Minnesota's population was made up of middle class Ger- 
mans and Scandinavians that had received homes in the 
land of their adoption at the hands of the central govern- 
ment. They hated slavery, having avoided the South for 
that reason. 

When Ft. Sumter fell in April, 1861, Governor Eamsey 
was in Washington and immediately tendered to Presi- 
dent Lincoln 1,000 men from Minnesota to suppress the 
insurrection. These were the first troops accepted by the 
President from any of the stated. The population of the 
state in 1861 was about 200,000. Of this number 25,052 
rendered service in the war, taking part in all the leading 
and most of the minor engagements. 1 

adopted by the legislature. The motto is E' Etoile du Nord, 
" Star of The North." A state flag was not adopted until 1893. 
The state flower is the Moccasin Flower (Cypripedium) . See 
Legislative Manual, 1905, pp. 4-6. 

1 After the Civil War several societies of a beneficial, fraternal, 
and patriotic nature were organized : ( 1 ) Grand Army of the 



26 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

While most of the able-bodied men were at the front 
nobly defending the Union, there occurred in the western 
part of the state the Sioux war — the greatest Indian 
massacre in the history of the United States. Before 
1851 some three or four treaties of friendship had been 
made with the Indians. By the treaties of 1851 and 
1858 the United States came into possession of all the 
land in the state except two Indian reservations. In re- 
turn for these lands the government promised to pay the 
Indians large annuities for a period of fifty years from 
1855. Congress was slow in making appropriations and 
the Indian agents, traders, half-breeds, and others that 
had become partially civilized are alleged to have robbed 
the Indians. .Smarting under these injustices and im- 
bued with the hope of regaining their lands, already 
ceded, the Indians fell upon an almost defenceless fron- 
tier and began their nefarious work. The little town of 
Acton in Meeker county was the first to fall; twenty- 
four hours later the upper agency on the Yellow Medicine 
and the lower agency at the mouth of the Eedwood were 
simultaneously attacked and completely destroyed. In 
August, New Ulm and Ft. Eidgely were attacked but were 
defended with desperate valor. 

Volunteers from the older settlements in the state came 
to the rescue under the command of General H. H. Sib- 
ley and routed the Indians, capturing about 2,000. Of 
this number 303 were condemned to death by a court- 
martial; 265 were reprieved by the President and 38 were 
hanged at Mankato, December 26, 1862. The Indians 
were further punished by troops under the command 
of General Sibley, 1863, and General Sully in 1864. 

Republic; (2) Woman's Relief Corps; (3) Loyal Legion. The 
Legislature of Minnesota established a Soldiers' Home in 1887. 
This is located at Minnehaha Falls. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 27 

As a result of this outbreak 30,000 persons fled from their 
homes and 2,000 lost their lives. 

During the Spanish-American war in 1898 Minnesota 
repeated her patriotic action of the Civil War by furnish- 
ing a large quota of troops to assist in the liberation of 
Cuba. 1 

16. Railroads. — Although Minnesota has splendid nav- 
igable waters for both internal and external commerce, 
the date of admission was one of great activity in rail- 
road building. The great trans-continental lines were be- 
ing discussed and many states had given assistance to rail- 
roads by voting money, lands, and credit for their con- 
struction. Even the government of the United States ac- 
tively engaged in this work. 

March 3, 1857, congress granted 5,000,000 acres of 
land to Minnesota for railroad purposes. Designing men 
and worthless companies with neither money nor credit 
sought to secure control of these lands and succeeded; 
but having no ready money the railroad companies went 
before the legislature and asked the state to lend its 
credit to the amount of $5,000,000. This was done by 
an amendment to the state constitution; but when bonds 
to the amount of $2,275,000, had been issued the state 
did not have a mile of completed railroad and only 250 
miles of road graded. The state proceeded to secure its 
bonds by taking the franchises of the roads and nearly 
all the 5,000,000 acres of land. The sentiment against 
paying the bonds either principal or interest without a 
vote of the people was. so strong that in 1860 the con- 
stitution was amended to that effect. In 1877 an effort 
was made to pay the bonds by setting aside the proceeds 
from the sale of 500,000 acres of internal improvement 
lands; but this was defeated by a vote of the people. In 
October, 1881, a special session of the legislature was 

i See Legislative Manual, 1905, p. 188. 



28 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

called and an adjustment made on the basis of 50 per 
cent of the amount due, pledging the proceeds of the 
500,000 acres of land. This proposition was adopted by 
a vote of the people and the state did not repudiate its 
debts largely owing to the earnest efforts of John S. 
Pillsbury, then governor of the state. 1 

In 1862 the legislature declared the old railroad fran- 
chises forfeited and transferred them to new companies. 
During the summer a railroad from St. Paul to St. 
Anthony was completed. This was the first railroad com- 
pleted in the state and was ten miles in length. The 
Civil War stopped railroad building; but in 1870 the 
state had a thousand miles of completed railroad. Min- 
nesota now has fourteen railroad companies operating 
6,198 miles of road. The central government granted 
17,621,952 acres of land and the state of Minnesota 
granted 3,062,141 acres or a total of 20,684,093 acres to- 
ward the building of these railroads. 

17. Growth and Resources of the State. — The popu- 
lation of Minnesota is made up of diverse nationalities — 
the German and .Scandinavian predominating. Two- 
thirds of the people are natives of this country. The pop- 
ulation of the state for various periods has been as fol- 
lows: in 1850, 6,077; in 1860, 172,023; in 1870, 439,706; 
1880, 780,773; 1890, 1,301,826; 1900, 1,751,394; 1905, 
1,979,912. 

Minnesota has many gifts of nature. The territory of 
the state is the source of three great river systems of 
North America — all navigable. The general surface of 
the state is high and rolling. The average elevation is 
about 1,275 feet above the sea-level; the lowest point is 
Lake Superior, 602 feet; the highest the Misquh Hills 
in Cook county, 2,230 feet. There are 7,000 lakes the 

i The constitution now forbids the state from loaning its credit 
to any individual, association, or corporation. Art. IX, Sect. 10. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 29 

value of whose fish alone is estimated at $100,000,000. 
In addition to the fish Minnesota has the finest large 
and small game hunting of any state in the Union. The 
state was at one time heavily timbered. The soil is fer- 
tile and well adapted to the growth of small grain, fruits 
and vegetables. There are vast deposits of iron suitable 
for the making of Bessemer steel. Unlimited quantities 
of high-grade sand, fine stone and clay are found. The 
elevation of Minnesota, its fine drainage and the dryness 
of the atmosphere give it a climate of unusual salubrity 
and pleasantness. It has a mean annual temperature of 
44 degrees; while its mean summer temperature is 70 
degrees. 

The industries of Minnesota are extensive and varied. 
The total number of farms is in round numbers 160,000, 
representing 30,000,000 acres. 1 The average number of 
acres to a farm is 169. The total value of all farm 
property is $800,000,000. The value of farm products 
is $175,000,000. 

In manufacturing Minnesota ranks first among the 
states in the manufacture of flouring and gristmill prod- 
ucts; third in the manufacture of lumber and linseed oil. 
The total number of manufacturing establishments is 
1,100, representing an invested capital of $170,000,000, 
employing 80,000 persons who earn in wages annually 
over $36,000,000. The product of meat packing and 
slaughtering establishments is over $10,000,000, and Min- 
nesota creameries annually produce butter to the value 
of $14,000,000. 

Minnesota contains iron mining districts that furnish 
two-thirds of the ore mined in the United States. St. 
Louis county is the mainstay of the steel industry in this 
country. 

18. The Future of the State. — Since Minnesota be- 

i Legislative Manual, 1905, pp. 300; 19. 



30 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

came a state in 1858, its history has been one of progres- 
sive development. The intelligence, the enterprise, and 
the moral earnestness of the people have imprinted the 
stamp of an advanced civilization on the character of 
the state. In accordance with the true American idea, 
the church accompanies the school. Vigorous churches 
of all denominations and an able ministry are keeping 
step with other forces which are rapidly telling for true 
stability and growth. 

What shall be the future of our state? That future 
depends on the men and women, the boys and girls of 
to-day. It is they who make the state. Throughout the 
wide world there is no other land so full of opportunities 
as our own. We are free to make our institutions ideal. 
But our civil institutions depend on the citizen for their 
strength and character. He makes the government in 
school district, county, state, and nation. His interests 
are entrusted to public servants of his own choosing. 
Upon him fall both the responsibilities and the blessings 
of free government. 

At the fireside we hear the stories of Washington and 
Lincoln; in school we learn of the making of the states 
and of the nation; we learn the nature of the state, its 
organization, and its administration. We leave school, and 
enter upon the active duties of life; then our influence is 
for or against good government — we hinder or we pro- 
mote the general welfare. Many years ago a child of five 
years became king of France. Until he was old enough 
to take upon himself the cares of his kingdom his guard- 
ians ruled in his name. On the day when he became of 
age his minister inquired of him, " Sire, to whom shall I 
now report ? " " To me," replied the king, " I am the 
state." And in this country, when a youth enters upon 
his manhood years, he well may say, " I am the state. 
Its interests, its honor, its histor}^, are mine also." 

Popular government on a vast scale is for the first time 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF MINNESOTA. 31 

on trial in this country. It is upon the individual citi- 
zens that its destiny depends. The work of good govern- 
ment is our work. " With malice toward none ; with 
charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives 
us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we 
are in." And we may then confidently expect the bless- 
ings of Providence to rest upon the State of Minnesota. 




CHAPTER III. 
THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 



— o — 

19. Citizen and Elector. — According to the provisions 
of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the 
United States, " All persons born or naturalized in the 
United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, 
are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein 
they reside." From this it follows, that citizens are 
either native born or naturalized. Hence, every person 
now residing in Minnesota who fulfills either of these 
two conditions is a citizen of this state. 

A citizen is a member of the community ; he may or may 
not have the right to vote, but in either case he is pro- 
tected by the government in his civil rights, and there- 
fore owes a duty to the state. The citizen's duty to the 
state includes: (1) unqualified obedience to the laws of 
the state; (2) a giving up of a part of his means for the 
support of the government by paying taxes; (3) support 

32 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 33 

of the government by force of arms should necessity re- 
quire it. 

An elector is a person who has the right of suffrage. 
The elector has all the obligations of the citizen, and 
in addition, he has the right of voting, which is a privi- 
lege or a trust. The abuse of the right to vote is a 
menace to good government. To vote wisely and con- 
scientiously is to promote the general welfare. The 
framers of our state constitution did not give all citi- 
zens the right to vote, but provided safeguards for the 
right of the elective franchise. 1 The will of the state is 
expressed by the voters in the choice of officers called 
the government. This is called representative govern- 
ment. 

20. Departments of the Government. — The govern- 
ment of Minnesota, like that of the other states, is vested 
in three departments — the legislative, the executive, and 
the judicial — among which are distributed all powers 
which the people desire to have exercised by the govern- 
ment. The constitution expressly prohibits the officers 
of one department from exercising the powers of another 
except in instances provided for in that instrument. In 
this way the separation of the powers of government is 
secured. 2 

i See Art. VII. 
2 See Art. III. 



34 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 



THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

21. The Legislative Power. — While the three depart- 
ments — the law-making, law-explaining and law-enforc- 
ing — are necessary to the existence and continuance of 
the government, the legislative, or law-making, is of prime 
importance, for laws must be enacted before they can be 
explained and enforced. All the statutory laws of the 
state of Minnesota, are made by the legislative depart- 
ment. 1 The governor of the state participates in legisla- 
tion when he approves or vetoes a bill. Any thing that 
has the form of law and is not in harmony with the laws 
of the United States or with the constitution of the 
state may be declared void by the judicial department. 

The legislative power of Minnesota is vested in a legis- 
lature consisting of a Senate and a House of Eepresenta- 
tives. 2 

22. The Legislature. — The members of the legisla- 
ture are chosen by the electors at the general election on 
the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of 
each even-numbered year (1906, 1908) and serve, the 
representatives for two years and the senators for four 
years. Should a vacancy occur in either house, a spe- 
cial election to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term 
is ordered by the governor. 3 

The legislature meets in regular session at 12 o'clock 
noon, in the capitol building in St. Paul, on Tuesday 
after the first Monday in January in every odd-numbered 

i The constitution is adopted by the voters directly. There 
is a large body of common law, or the unwritten customs of Eng- 
land, that we inherited directly. 

2 See Art. IV., Sects. 1-2. 

3 For qualifications of members of the legislature see Art. IV., 
Sect. 25 and Art. VII. 



H 

S3 - 
CD 

- 



OP 







35 



36 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

year. The constitution provides that no session of the 
legislature shall exceed ninety legislative days. At the 
discretion of the governor special sessions may be con- 
vened on extraordinary occasions, and the Senate may be 
convened in special session for the transaction of execu- 
tive business. 

23. The Two Houses. — Each house elects its own 
officers, except that the lieutenant-governor is ex-officio 
president of the Senate. He is not a member of that 
body and votes only in case of a tie. The Senate elects 
one of its own members president pro tempore, who acts 
as president when the lieutenant-governor is absent. 1 

The presiding officer in the House is called the speaker, 
who votes as a member. 

Among other officers and employes of each house are 
clerks, who have charge of bills; the sergeant-at-arms, 
who keeps order and compels the attendance of absent 
members, when so ordered by the house; the doorkeepers, 
who guard the doors ; the chaplain, who opens the sessions 
with prayer; and the pages, who wait on members while 
the house is in session. 

There are certain special powers possessed by each 
house. The House of Representatives has the sole right 
to institute impeachment proceedings against state officers 
charged with misdemeanors and to originate bills for rais- 
ing revenue. All cases of impeachment of state officers 
are tried by the Senate, and most of the appointments 
made by the governor require the consent of this body. 

24. Committees. — An important part of the legisla- 
tive work is done by committees. The usual subjects of 
state legislation fall into about fifty classes or groups; 

i Within certain limitations each house has power over its own 
internal organization. For the powers, privileges, duties, limita- 
tions, or prohibitions see Art. IV. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 37 

such as judiciary, finance, ways and means, railroads, 
education, public lands, etc. 

Committees having charge of these subjects are called 
standing committees, because they have charge of a given 
class of subjects during the entire session. The commit- 
tees are formed early in the session, by appointment by 
the lieutenant-governor in the Senate and by the speaker 
in the House. A committee of conference is appointed in 
each house, when differences arise between the two houses. 
The business of a committee of conference is to en- 
deavor to harmonize these differences. Sometimes joint 
committees investigate subjects of general interest, as 
railroad rates, etc. There are also special committees ap- 
pointed when necessary, which have particular subjects 
or bills referred to them for a special report. 

The committee of the whole hears and considers all bills 
on their second reading. When so sitting the discussion 
is more informal than in the regular sessions of the house 
and is not restricted" by the rules which apply to the 
regular sessions. When sitting as the committee of the 
whole, the house is presided over by a chairman appointed 
by the regular presiding officer of the house. 

The committees exercise a guiding influence in legis- 
lation by deciding what bills are worthy of serious con- 
sideration by the members. The work of the various com- 
mittees in examining, and either approving, modifying, 
or rejecting the different bills, greatly facilitates the trans- 
action of business by the legislature, which usually ac- 
quiesces in the conclusions of the committees. 1 

25. What the Legislature Does. — The legislature 
elects two persons to represent the state in the senate of 

i For a list of the committees of the forty-fourth legislature 
see Legislative Manual, 1905, p. 146; 148. For the rules of the 
two houses see Legislative Manual, 1905, p. 151; 160; The rules 
must be in harmony with the constitution; but in many respects 
they supplement this instrument. 



38 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

the United States. 1 For election purposes it divides the 
state into judicial, representative, senatorial, and congres- 
sional districts. 

The laws enacted by the legislature deal with the sub- 
jects that concern the residents of the state both in 
their relations to the state and to the community in 
which they live, and in their every-day actions and busi- 
ness relations with one another. They provide for the 
government of counties, cities, towns, and school districts; 
for the organization and procedure of the courts; for the 
establishment and support of schools and benevolent in- 
stitutions; for the prevention and punishment of crime; 
for the levying of taxes to defray the expenses of the 
state government; for the conduct of elections; for the 
formation and regulation of railroad, manufacturing, min- 
ing, business, and other corporations; for the legal rela- 
tions of husband and wife and of parent and child; for 
buying and selling houses, lands, goods, and for the due 
fulfillment of all lawful contracts that may be made by 
residents of the state. It is seen, therefore, that the real 
function of state law is to guide, to restrain, and to pro- 
tect the citizen in most of his undertakings. 

26. How Laws are Made. — The introduction to every 
law is, " Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of 
Minnesota " ; and no law may include more than one sub- 
ject which must be expressed in its title. 

All proposed laws, except for raising revenue, may 
originate in either house in the form of bills which can 
not be introduced during the last twenty days of the ses- 
sion, except with the* written consent of the governor, nor 
can a bill be passed on the last day of the session; but 

i These persons are elected at large, or irrespective of districts. 
For the other districts see Legislative Manual, 1905, pp. 130, 131, 
136. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 39 

it may be engrossed, signed and transmitted from one 
house to the other, or to the governor. 

A bill, on being introduced into either house must be 
read at length or by title and referred to the appropriate 
committee; after its return from the committee, if the 
report is favorable it is printed, and must be read at length 
on two different days unless an emergency exists when the 
rules may be suspended and more than one reading heard 
on the same day. 

If a bill is materially amended it is ordered reprinted. 
When any changes or amendments to a bill are made in 
the other house the bill must be returned for approval 
to the house in which it originated. Before a bill is de- 
clared passed, it must have a majority vote of all the 
members of each house; the final vote on the bill must 
be taken by the yeas and nays, and the names of those 
voting, and how they voted, must be entered on the journal. 

Every bill passed by both houses is engrossed; it is 
signed by the speaker and the chief clerk of the House; 
also by the president and secretary of the Senate in the 
presence of the members; it is then sent to the governor. 
If he signs the bill, it becomes a law, and is filed with 
the secretary of state for safe-keeping. If the governor 
does not approve the bill he vetoes it; that is, he returns 
it to the house in which it originated with his reasons 
for objecting to it. If both houses re-pass the bill by a 
two-thirds vote of all the members, it becomes a law 
without the approval of the governor. If the governor 
fails either to sign or to return the bill within three 
days, Sunday excepted, after it has been presented to 
him, it becomes a law, unless the legislature by adjourn- 
ing, prevents its return. 

The constitution provides that the governor may veto 
any item or items in a bill making appropriations of 
money when the bill embraces distinct items; the items 



40 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

disapproved are void unless reconsidered and passed in 
the manner of passing bills over the executive veto. 

A law does not go into effect until the date designated 
by the legislature in the act. Authority is given the sec- 
retary of state to collect and have the laws published. 
These laws are first published in the newspapers of the 
state, and later in permanent book form for sale. 

27. Restrictions on Law-Making. — There is a con- 
stantly increasing tendency on the part of legislatures to 
act on a multiplicity of subjects. This disposition 
prompted the framers of our constitution to hedge the 
legislature with many limitations. These limitations sup- 
plement the restrictions on state legislation found in 
the constitution of the United States. The " Bill of 
Bights" prohibits the legislature from disturbing the 
individual in the right of "life, liberty and the pursuit 
of happiness." 

Probably the chief reason for so many restrictions be- 
ing placed upon the legislature is because the responsibil- 
ity for vicious or special legislation is not easily fastened 
upon individual members. These restrictions, together 
with the checks which each house exercises upon the other, 
and the executive veto, materially restrain and circum- 
scribe the legislative power. 1 

i See Art. IV., Sect, 33. 



THE STATE GOVERNMENT 41 



THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

28. The Executive Department, according to the 
constitution, consists of six officers: the governor, the 
lieutenant-governor, the secretary of state, the state au- 
ditor, the state treasurer, and the attorney-general. 1 All 
these officers are elected by popular vote at the general 
state election, held in even-numbered years. All but the 
auditor hold office for two ) T ears, or until their successors 
are elected and qualified, from the first Monday in Jan- 
uary after their election. The auditor's term is four 
years. The scope and authority of each of the state 
officers are carefully defined by the constitution or stat- 
utes or by both. 

29. The Governor is the supreme executive offi- 
cer. As the chief executive, it is his duty to see that the 
laws are faithfully executed and to . preserve peace and 
order. He is commander-in-chief of the military and 
naval forces of the state except when they are engaged 
in the service of the United States; with the consent 
of the Senate, he appoints the principal officers of the 
state that are not elected by the people, and the members 
of the boards of the various state institutions. He has 
power to remove any person whom he appoints; also the 
clerk of the supreme and district court, and most local 
administrative officers for malfeasance or misfeasance in 
office. 

He is empowered under certain restrictions, to fill va- 
cancies that may occur in office. When occasion requires 
he issues writs for special elections. He may demand 
fugitives from justice in this state from the executive 
of any other state, and upon the requisition of the gov- 

i See Art. V., Sect. 1. 



42 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

ernor of another state may issue warrants for the arrest 
of fugitives found in this state. He may require the 
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the 
executive departments, upon any subjects relating to the 
duties of his office. He, as a member of the board of 
pardons, may participate in granting reprieves and par- 
dons after conviction for offenses against the state ex- 
cept in cases of impeachment. 

In legislation it is the duty of the governor to trans- 
mit to the legislature, by message, information concerning 
the condition of the state, and to indicate a general policy 
of legislation by recommending such measures as he may 
deem expedient. He convenes extra sessions of the legisla- 
ture when necessary and has the power to adjourn this 
body if the two houses cannot agree as to the time of 
adjournment; he examines all bills submitted to him by 
the legislature, signs those which he approves and either 
allows the others to become laws without his signature 
or vetoes and returns them to the house in which they 
originated. 

The power which the governor holds in relation to the 
legislative and judicial departments of the government be- 
longs to him peculiarly as chief executive of the state. 1 

30. The Lieutenant-Governor. — The constitution pro- 
vides that in case the governor, for any cause or dis- 
ability shall be removed, the duties of the office shall 
devolve upon the lieutenant-governor. In case of the dis- 
ability of the lieutenant-governor, the duties of the office 
devolve upon the president pro tempore of the Senate. 
The lieutenant-governor is ex-officio or by virtue of his 
office, the president of the Senate. He is not a regular 
member of the Senate and votes only in case of a tie. 

31. The Secretary of State. — Chief among the chities 
of the secretary of state is the preservation of state rec- 

iSee Art. V., Sect. 4. 



TEE STATE GOVERNMENT. 43 

ords. All public records, reports, laws, and resolutions 
are enrolled in his office. He publishes the laws and jour- 
nals of the legislature, proposed amendments to the con- 
stitution, and the reports of the state officers and boards; 
he gives notice to the county auditors of state and national 
elections, of the offices to be filled, and the names of the 
various nominees certified to him; he receives the elec- 
tion returns for all candidates for state offices, members 
of congress, and presidential electors, and at the direction 
of the state canvassing board, of which he is a member, 
issues certificates of election ; * he takes the state census 
every ten years; he submits to the decision of the electors 
all proposed amendments to the constitution; he attests 
all proclamations, commissions, and other documents is- 
sued by the governor, and as evidence of their authority, 
stamps them with the great seal 2 of the state, of which 
he is the custodian; he is the purchasing agent and cus- 
todian of all stationery and supplies for the legislature 
and state officials; he issues and keeps a record of the 
charters of corporations, such as railroad, telegraph, tele- 
phone, manufacturing, and banking companies, colleges, 
and of private corporations organized for business, chari- 
table, or social purposes; and he conducts all official com- 
munications with other states and with the United States. 
32. The State Auditor issues warrants or orders on 
the state treasurer for the payment of salaries of state 
officers, members of the legislature, clerks, and other em- 
ployes in state offices, and for all moneys authorized by 
law to be paid by the state treasurer; he makes a semi- 
annual report to the superintendent of public instruction 
of the amount of the state school fund, and after this has 
been apportioned by the superintendent of public in- 
struction among the various counties of the state, the state 

i See Sect. 109. 
2 See p. 32, 



44 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

auditor issues warrants on the state treasurer for the pay- 
ment of the same to the various county treasurers. He 
prescribes the tax blanks, prepares the abstracts of taxes 
for the state board of equalization, keeps an account of all 
the taxes, and makes a detailed report of the affairs of his 
office to the legislature. 

The auditor is ex-officio land commissioner. He has 
charge of the sale and lease of all lands belonging to the 
state and must keep a classified account of all money 
transactions connected with them. 

33. The State Treasurer receives and keeps in charge 
all money belonging to the state not otherwise provided 
for, and pays out the same upon warrants issued by the 
state auditor; he countersigns and keeps a record 
of all warrants issued by the state auditor; he 
makes daily reports to the state auditor of the money 
received and paid out, and the warrants registered 
by him ; he prints, in one or more of the daily newspapers 
published at the capital, a condensed financial statement 
for the two preceding months ; he must report to the state 
legislature on the third day of its session, and to the gov- 
ernor at any time this officer may require it, the condition 
of the public accounts. His books are to be examined 
four times each year by an auditing commission provided 
by law. He is authorized to loan the money of the state 
for the benefit of the state, to the bank or banks that will 
give the highest interest, which must be at least two per 
cent. 

34. The Attorney-General is the law officer of the 
state. It is his duty to defend the state in all suits 
that may be brought against it, and to prosecute in the 
proper court any claims made by the state against any 
person, corporation, other state, or the government of 
the United States; he is also required to give official 
opinions upon legal questions submitted by the governor, 
the heads of the state departments, and various other offi- 



TEE STATE GOVERNMENT. 45 

eers. throughout the state on matters relating to their re- 
spective offices. Upon the request of the governor he is 
required to prosecute any person accused of an indictable 
offense. He may appear in the district court in criminal 
cases when so requested by the county attorney. 

35. Railroad and Warehouse Commission. — The 
members of the railroad and warehouse commission were 
made elective for a term of four years in 1899. Before 
this date they were appointed. The work of this board 
embraces matters pertaining to railway operation, the ad- 
ministration of the grain service at terminal points, and 
the supervision of commission merchants. 

Since 1885, this board has appointed a chief grain in- 
spector. The work of this department is done in six 
districts under various deputies. 1 

36. Administrative Boards and Appointed Officers. 
— A number of state boards have been created from time 
to time for the performance of particular duties. 

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS. 

1. The Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2 has gen- 
eral supervision of the public schools of the state; he 
counsels with county superintendents and other school 
officers and persons on matters involving the welfare of the 
schools; his decisions touching the school laws are final 
until set aside by legal authority or by legislation; he 
furnishes county superintendents with lists of questions 
to be used in examining persons who desire to become 
teachers in the public schools, and prescribes regulations 
concerning their use, in order to make the examination 

i These districts are St. Paul, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, Duluth, 
New Prague and Sleepy Eye. 

2 The members of the various boards, commissions, and bureaus 
are appointed by the governor with the approval of the Senate 
except when otherwise indicated. 



46 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

uniform throughout the state; he has the manuscripts 
marked under his direction and issues a teacher's certifi- 
cate if the candidate is successful; he apportions the 
public school income fund among the various counties; 
he furnishes blanks and forms for the use of subordinate 
officers and teachers ; he compiles and distributes the state 
school laws ; he makes a biennial report to the governor 
setting forth the condition of the schools, with sugges- 
tions concerning their improvement; he is ex-officio a 
member of various state boards that have to do with edu- 
cational matters. 

Another state administrative officer is (2) The Public 
Examiner who is the expert accountant of the state and 
holds his office for a term of four years. By law he has 
unlimited power to examine the accounts of all public 
officers, state, and county, and the financial offices of cer- 
tain cities; he examines the books of all corporations that- 
pay a gross earnings tax ; he is ex-officio superintendent of 
banks ; he prescribes and enforces correct methods of keep- 
ing the financial accounts of state institutions, county 
offices, and banking institutions. 

Other administrative officers are as follows: 

(1) The Commissioner of Insurance: (2) The Dairy and Food 
Commissioner; (3) The Commissioner of Labor; (4) The State 
Librarian, who has charge of the state library under the direc- 
tion of the justices of the supreme court; (5) The Forest Com- 
missioner, who is the state auditor and appoints a fire warden- 
in-chief for the state; (6) The Oil Inspector; (7) The Surveyors 
of Logs and Lumber; (8) The Custodian of Public Buildings; (9) 
The Boiler Inspectors; (10) The Adjutant General. 

STATE BOARDS (MAINLY EX-OFFICIO) 

There are several state boards, mainly ex-officio. These are as 
follows: (1) Board of Investments consisting of the governor, 
auditor, treasurer, chief justice of the supreme court, and presi- 
dent of the board of regents for the state university; (2) The 
Board of Pardons, consisting of the governor, attorney-general, 



f BE STATE GOVERNMENT. 4? 

and chief justice of the supreme court ; ( 3 ) Board of Equalization, 
consisting of the governor, auditor, attorney-general, and one elec- 
tor from each judicial district in the state; (4) The Board of 
Public Printing, consisting of the secretary of state, auditor, and 
treasurer; (5) The Auditing Board, consisting of the governor, 
secretary of state, and attorney-general; (6) The Public Library 
Commission, consisting of the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion, president of the state university, secretary of the state his- 
torical society, and two other persons; (7) The Public School 
Library Commission, consisting of the state superintendent of 
public instruction and the presidents of the five normal schools; 
(8) The State Board of Canvassers, consisting of the secretary 
of state, two or more justices of the supreme court, and two dis- 
interested judges of the district courts. 

OTHER STATE BOARDS. 

There are a number of other state boards whose duties are suffi- 
ciently indicated by their title. These boards are as follows: i 
(1) Board of Examiners in Law (one from each of the nine con- 
gressional districts) ; (2) Board of Health and Vital Statistics 
(nine members) ; (3) Board of Medical Examiners (eight mem- 
bers) ; (4) Board of Pharmacy (six members); (5) Board of 
Dental Examiners (five members) ; (6) Board of Veterinary 
Medical Examiners (five members) ; (7) Board of Examiners of 
Barbers (three members) ; (8) Board of Commissioners of Prac- 
tical Plumbing (five members) ; (9) Horseshoers' Board of Ex- 
aminers (five members); (10) Game and Fish Commissioners 
(five members); (11) Forestry Board (nine members); (12) 
Board of Electrical Examiners (five members) ; (13) State Cap- 
itol Commissioners (seven members); (14) Board of Examiners 
in Optometry (five members); (15) Board of Appeals for the 
Inspection of Grain (six members); (16) Board of Osteopathic 
Examiners and Registration (five members); (17) Live Stock 
Sanitary Board (five members); (18) State Highway Commis- 
sion (three members); (19) State Board of Examiners for 
Teachers' Professional Certificates (three members) ; (20) State 
Board of Arbitration (three members). 

i The boards numbered 1, 2, 3, 5 and 18 serve three years ; 
those numbered 4 and 16, for lour years; the board numbered 10 
for four years and the others for two years. 



48 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 



BOARDS FOR STATE INSTITUTIONS. 

There are various boards for state institutions. These are as 
follows: i (1) Board of Regents for the state university (twelve 
members) ; (2) Board of Directors for the state normal schools 
(nine members) ; (3) State High School Board (five members) ; 
(4) Board of Directors for the school for the deaf and the 
blind (seven members) ; (5) Board of Control for the state public 
school (three members) ; (6) Board of Trustees of Minnesota 
soldiers' home (seven members) ; (7) State Board of Control of 
state institutions 2 (three members). 

SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS. 

There are several societies and associations under the super- 
vision of the state. Some of them receive state aid. These soci- 
eties are as follows : ( 1 ) Minnesota Historical Society ; ( 2 ) The 
Forestry Association; (3) Minnesota State Agricultural Society; 

(4) Minnesota State Horticultural Society; (5) Minnesota 
Dairymen's Association; (6) Minnesota State Butter and Cheese 
Makers' Association; (7) Minnesota State Farmers' Institute; 

(8) Minnesota State Art Society; (9) Society for the Prevention 
of Cruelty to Animals. 

37. Notaries Public. — The governor may appoint as 
many notaries as he thinks necessary. A notary is em- 
powered to administer oaths, attest signatures and take 
depositions and acknowledgments of documents. All such 
papers, when attested by a notary, are admitted by the 
courts as legal evidence. 

38. The Militia. — All able-bodied male persons of the 
state between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, 

i Boards numbered 1, 5, 6 and 7 serve six years; number 4 
serves five years; number 2, serves four years, and number 3, two 
years. 

2 The state board of control has either general or complete 
charge of the state correctional and charitable institutions. It 
also has charge of the construction of all buildings and perma- 
nent improvements for all the state institutions, except the new 
state capitol. 



TEE STATE GOVERNMENT. 49 

wno are not exempted by law, belong to the enrolled mili- 
tia, but they are not called upon to perform military 
duty unless there is war, rebellion, or invasion, and a suf- 
ficient number of volunteers cannot be had. The organized 
militia is known as the Minnesota national guard, and is 
composed of volunteers from the enrolled militia; the 
national guard is uniformed, armed, and equipped at the 
expense of the state, and is drilled in conformity with 
the system employed in the United States army. 

There is now allowed by law, in addition to the land 
military forces a naval force of eight divisions divided 
into two crews and known as the Minnesota naval mili- 
tia. The government of the United States has furnished 
a vessel from the navy for the use of the naval militia. 

It is the duty of the military forces to respond to all 
calls from the governor to aid in suppressing riots, mobs, 
and tumults. 



50 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 



THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

39. The Judicial Power of the state is vested in the 
supreme court in the state; in the district court in the 
judicial district; in the probate and justices' courts 1 in 
the counties; in the police or municipal courts in the 
cities and counties; and in such other courts as may be 
created by the legislature. All courts, except the justices' 
court, are known as " courts of record/' 

40. The Supreme Court consists of five judges chosen 
by the electors of the state to serve for six years. Two 
terms of the supreme court are held annually at St. Paul. 2 
Special terms are held if all the justices, or any two of 
them, decide that the public interest requires them. 

The supreme court is authorized to issue various writs 
and to hear and determine them, for the purpose of cor- 
recting abuses and preventing violations of the law. In 
these cases it decides only on matters of law; matters of 
fact are referred to a lower court and are tried by a 
jury. 

The jurisdiction of the supreme court extends over the 
entire state and is both original and appellate. This 
court's original jurisdiction is limited, its work being 
confined chiefly to cases appealed from the lower courts. 3 

41. The District Courts. — The state is divided into 
eighteen judicial districts. Each district elects one or 
more judges for a term of six years. These judges have 
original jurisdiction in all civil actions within their re- 

i The local courts are described in this chapter in order to 
give a view of the judicial system as a whole. 

2 First Tuesday in April and October. 

s The justices of the supreme court appoint a reporter who 
prepares the decisions for publication. The clerk of the supreme 
court is elected by the people for a term of four years. 






TEE STATE GOVERNMENT. 51 

spective districts, when the sum in controversy exceeds 
one hundred dollars, and in all civil actions whatever the 
amount in controversy when a justice of the peace has no 
jurisdiction; they have original jurisdiction in criminal 
cases when the punishment exceeds three months' im- 
prisonment or a fine of more than one hundred dol- 
lars, and appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal 
cases from the lower courts. At least one term of the 
district court is held each year in each county of the 
judicial district. Special terms may be held at the option 
of the judge. On the request of the governor the judge 
of one district is required to hold court in another dis- 
trict when the public interest demands it. 

In counties of over 50,000 population the judges may 
designate one of their number to hold a juvenile court. 
This judge has a separate room. 

When the judges of the supreme court are disqualified 
from sitting in any case, the judges of the district courts 
may sit for them. The governor makes the assignment 
unless he is an interested party, when the lieutenant-gov- 
ernor does it. 

There is elected in each county where a district court 
is held, a clerk of the court, whose term of office is four 
years. 1 

42. Justices' Courts. — The humblest court in the land, 
the court upon which all other courts are founded, and the 
court of greatest antiquity, is the justices' court. There 
are two justices for each township or village, and usually 
two or more for each city. 

Justices of the peace have jurisdiction in civil cases in 
which the amount in dispute does not exceed one hundred 
dollars, except when the boundaries or the title to land 
are in question, in which case they have no jurisdiction. 
They are authorized to hear and determine cases of mis- 

i See Art. VI. 



52 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OP MINNESOTA. 

demeanors and minor violations, such as assault and bat- 
tery and petit larceny. They have no jurisdiction in a 
criminal case where the punishment exceeds three months' 
imprisonment or a fine of over one hundred dollars. They 
act also as examining magistrates to determine whether 
persons arrested, charged with felonies shall be held for 
an inquiry by the grand jury. If, on the examination of 
witnesses there is found evidence of guilt, the prisoner is 
held to await the action of the grand jury. The accused 
person may be released on giving bail or security to appear 
in court when summoned. If the crime is one which is 
not bailable, such as murder, or if the accused person 
fails to give satisfactory security to appear in court when 
summoned he is sent to jail, where he remains until the 
case is tried, unless he is released on a writ of habeas 
corpus. 1 

In civil cases a jury trial may be had in a justice's 
court on the demand of either party; but the jury may 
consist of only six men if both parties consent. A jury in 
criminal cases consists of twelve men. 

A change of venue may be taken to the court of the 
nearest justice. An appeal may be taken from the de- 
cision of the justices' court to the district court. The 
justice of the peace is empowered to issue warrants, to 
solemnize marriages, to administer oaths, and to attest 
signatures. 

43. The Probate Court. — Every organized county in 
the state has a probate court. The probate judge is elected 
by the people for two years, and appoints his own clerk. 
This court probates the wills of deceased persons and su- 
pervises the settlement of the estate, administers the es- 

1 A writ of habeas corpus is an order issued by a judge direct- 
ing that the accused person or any person whose detention is 
questioned be brought into court, that the cause of his imprison- 
ment or detention may be investigated. 



TEE STATE GOVERNMENT. 53 

tates of persons dying without a will, appoints guardians 
for minors, incompetent, and insane persons, examines 
those suspected of being insane and commits them to the 
state asylum for the insane, if they are so found, and per- 
forms the marriage ceremony. 

44. Municipal Court. 1 — To relieve the other courts 
the legislature has created the municipal court. Any in- 
corporated place of 2,000 inhabitants may have such a 
court. The people in the city elect the judge for a term 
of four years. His salary is fixed by the council. 

This court has jurisdiction in civil actions where the 
amount in controversy does not exceed five hundred dol- 
lars. It has jurisdiction in criminal cases equivalent to 
that of a justice of the peace and this is co-extensive with 
the limits of the county where it is located. 

45. Executive Officers of the Courts. — The execu- 
tive officer of the supreme court is called the marshal, 
who is appointed by the judges. The executive officer of 
the district court is the sheriff or the coroner; of the 
probate court, the sheriff or constable; of the municipal 
or justices' courts, the sheriff, constable, the marshal, or 
policeman. These officers execute the orders of the courts, 
serve papers, and have charge of juries and prisoners. 

40. Clerks of the Courts. — In all courts of record 
there is a clerk. 

The clerks of the courts attend the sessions of the 
courts and make a record of their proceedings; they is- 
sue subpoenas or notices calling into court such persons 
as the judges or parties interested in litigation, may di- 
rect to be present; they call jurors and witnesses before 
the court and administer the oath to them; they have 

i This court has a clerk and a seal and is thus a court of 
record. A court of record is one that preserves accurate records 
of all its proceedings. All courts in Minnesota are courts of 
record except justices' courts. 



54 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

charge of all papers and documents; and when directed 
by the court, they issue writs in its name and affix its seal. 

47. Attorneys. — Attorneys-at-law are, in a certain 
sense, officers of the courts, because they are admitted to 
practice in the courts of the state by the supreme court 
or by a board appointed by this court; they must have a 
good moral character and a legal education. Attorneys 
are appointed to conduct civil and criminal cases for the 
parties concerned in any case. The attorney-general rep- 
resents and appears for the people in the supreme court 
and other courts; the city attorney, in the municipal 
court; the county attorney, in the district and lower courts. 

48. Trial by Jury.— The county commissioners furnish 
the clerk of the district court with a list of names from 
which he chooses jurors. Persons selected as jurors must 
serve, unless excused by the judge. 1 Jurors and witnesses 
are entitled to pay for their time; they also receive mile- 
age. There are two regular kinds of juries — a grand jury 
and a petit jury. The grand jury consists of not less than 
16 nor more than 23 men. It is the accusing body in crim- 
inal action. 2 The petit jury, twelve men, is the trial jury 
in both criminal and civil cases, except in justices' courts. 

49. Miscellaneous. — (1) A Court C ommisssioner is 
elected in each county for a term of four years. His 
salary is paid by fees and his powers are the same as a 
district judge-at-chambers. He may, under certain cir- 

iAll persons that are qualified electors of the state are com- 
petent to serve as both grand and petit jurors unless exempted 
by law. 

2 An accused person may also be brought before the court for 
trial on an information of the county attorney if he wishes to 
plead guilty before the judge, and then receive sentence; but this 
can only be done if the punishment is not more than five years 
in either the penitentiary or reformatory. On trial by jury and 
the difference between criminal and civil cases see Fradenburgh's 
li American Civics," p. SO, or Thorpe's " Course in Civil Govern- 
ment^ Chap. XII. 



TEE STATE GOVERNMENT. 55 

eumstances act as judge of probate. (2) Notaries Pub- 
lic perform a great deal of business for the courts in ad- 
ministering oaths, taking and certifying depositions, ac- 
knowledgments etc. (3) There is provision for a trial 
by referees. The referees may be one or more electors, 
but not more than three. They are paid out of the state 
treasury on the order of the district judge under whose 
direction they act. There is reference, by consent, in any 
civil action, except divorce action, upon agreement of the 
parties to the action. There may be compulsory refer- 
ence when the parties to an action can not agree and 
either of them requests trial by referees, or on the order 
of the judge if the press of business demands such refer- 
ence. The work of the referees by compulsion is to ex- 
amine long accounts. In either case of reference the 
findings of the referees must be reviewed by the judge. 

(4) Arbitration is provided for the settlement of differ- 
ences arising between employers and employes and in 
some other civil matters. -Provision is made for a state 
and also for local boards of arbitration or conciliation. 

(5) Trial by Impeachment is provided for in the consti- 
tution. 1 (6) A Special Board for making a recommen- 
dation for the settlement of accounts due the state, if the 
strict enforcement of a demand for money or other prop- 
erty would work a hardship, is provided. The attorney- 
general reports the matter to the governor, who appoints 
two justices of the supreme court to act with the attorney- 
general in the matter. The report of this special board 
is filed with the governor and the attorney-general makes 
settlement on the basis of the report. 

iArt IV., Sect. 14. See also Art. XIII. For Miscellaneous 
provisions touching the judiciary see Art. IV., Sects. 4, 7, 9, 10, 
11 and 14. 



56 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

STUDIES ON THE GOYEBNMENT OF THE STATE. 
THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. How is a law proved unconstitutional ? 

2. To what committee would a bill providing for the 
support of the state normal schools be referred? 

3. What is the " enacting clause " of a bill ? 

4. In how many ways may a bill become a law ? 

5. Why have two houses in the legislature ? 

6. When does the Senate become administrative in its 
functions ? 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

1. To whom is the governor accountable? 

2. Where does he render his account? 

3. How is the appointing power controlled? 

4. What are the privileges of the lieutenant-governor in 
the Senate? 

5. Index the constitution, showing all references to the 
executive. 

6. Name the state offices; the general administrative 
boards. 

7. Make a list of all institutions supported by the 
state. Give some reason for the existence of each. 

8. Why is the militia a part of the executive? 

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 

1. Why have long terms for judges? 

2. Should a judge be elected or appointed? Why? 

3. Why should the higher court issue the writ of error? 

4. Should or should not a verdict be rendered by a 
majority of a petit jury? Give your reasons. 

5. What is meant by jurisdiction? By habeas corpus? 







City Hall, Minneapolis. 

CHAPTER IV. 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 



50. Local Government is the administration and con- 
trol of the public affairs of the county, the city, the 
town, and the school district, in the- preservation of the 
peace, the administration of justice, the construction of 
roads and bridges, the maintenance of common schools, 
the care of the poor, the assessment of property, the col- 
lection of taxes, sanitation, protection from fire, water sup- 
ply, etc. For the purpose of local government the state 
is divided into counties, townships, and school districts, 
and certain communities are organized as villages and 

57 



58 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

cities. These various subdivisions constitute political cor- 
porations which derive their powers from the constitution 
and from laws passed by the legislature. 

THE COUNTY. 

51. The County. — The state of Minnesota is divided 
into eighty-three counties. New counties may be created 
by the legislature, but no part of any county may be 
added to an adjoining county without submitting the 
question to the qualified electors of the county whose 
territory it is proposed to reduce, and receiving the ap- 
proval of the majority of the electors. 1 Each county is 
a corporation empowered to sue and to be sued, to pur- 
chase, hold and convey real and personal property, and to 
exercise such other powers as may be conferred by law. 

52. The County Officers are the commissioners, the 
auditor, the treasurer, the register of deeds, the sheriff, 
the county attorney, the judge of probate, 2 the court com- 
missioner, the surveyor, the coroner, the clerk of the dis- 
trict court, the superintendent of schools, the physician, 
and the over-seer of the poor. 3 

Most of the officers are required to keep their offices 
at the county-seat, a town selected temporarily by the 
legislature when the county is organized, and afterward 

1 A new county must contain not less than four hundred square 
miles. It must also contain not less than 2,000 inhabitants. 
See Art. XI. 

2 The duties of the probate judge, clerks of the courts, jus- 
tices of the peace and constables are described in Chap. III., 
the Judicial Department. 

3 All these officers are elective except the physician, and the 
over-seer of the poor, who are appointed by the commissioners. 
They serve for two years, except the commissioners, the court 
commissioner, and the clerk of the district court who serve four 
years. 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 59 

permanently by a popular vote of the people, either on 
account of its importance or its favorable location. 

53. The Board of County Commissioners consists of 
from five to seven members. Each county is divided into 
as many commissioners' districts as there are commission- 
ers in the county. Each district is represented by one 
commissioner, who must be a resident and an elector of 
the district in which he is elected. The commissioners 
are elected by the voters of their respective districts and 
from the different districts in turn. 

The commissioners have charge of all buildings be- 
longing to the county; levy the county tax; examine and 
adjust claims against the county; furnish lists of jurors 
for the district court; appoint judges of elections; su- 
perintend the registration of voters; appoint persons to 
minor county offices and fill vacancies in county and pre- 
cinct offices, except that of county commissioner; divide 
the county into election precincts; have supervision of 
the county roads; care for the poor; organize towns and 
townships; re-establish section posts; organize and change 
the boundaries of school districts; examine the accounts 
of the auditor and treasurer, and make an annual state- 
ment for publication, and in general have the manage- 
ment of all county business for which no other provi- 
sion is made by law. 1 

54. The Auditor attends the sessions and keeps a 
record of the proceedings of the county commissioners; 
countersigns all orders for the payment of money ap- 
proved by the board; keeps an account of receipts and 
expenditures of the county and all accounts of the county 

i At the first meeting of the commissioners after the annual 
election, the board elects one of its number as chairman who 
presides at the meetings of the board and signs all county war- 
rants and bonds. The commissioners receive compensation ac- 
cording to the property valuation of the county; and mileage. 



60 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

with other officers; prepares the official ballots for general 
elections; prepares an annual statement of the county 
finances; estimates the taxes of the county for each per- 
son and furnishes these lists to the county treasurer for 
use in the collection of the taxes; his books must check 
with those of the treasurer at all times. 

55. The Treasurer collects the taxes and receives all 
other money paid to the county, and pays county orders 
or warrants issued by the county commissioners. He gives 
duplicate receipts for all money received and one of these 
must be deposited with the auditor. Three times a year, 
without previous notice, his books are examined by a 
board of county auditors, consisting of the chairman of 
the board of county commissioners, the auditor and the 
clerk of the district court. He is forbidden by law to 
speculate in orders, warrants, or with county bonds. 

56. The Register of Deeds. — All deeds, mortgages, 
and many other papers are by law required to be re- 
corded in the office of the county register of deeds. He 
registers the description and brands used for cattle, horses, 
sheep and hogs, and is required to make abstracts of titles 
to real estate. So important are the accuracy and ex- 
actness of the record, that the law requires the register 
to endorse on every document recorded in his office the 
date, the hour, and the minute of its entry on his books, 
and also the number and page of the book in which the 
record is made. 

57. The Sheriff is the executive officer of the county 
and of its courts of record. He appoints as many depu- 
ties as may be necessary to assist him in the discharge of 
his duties; he attends the drawing of jurors and summons 
them when drawn; he has custody of the county- jail and 
is responsible for the safe-keeping* of prisoners. It is his 
duty to preserve the peace, and for this purpose, in case 
of a riot, he may call to his aid as many persons as may be 
necessary. The persons summoned constitute a posse com- 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 61 

itatus (literally, power of the county) or, more briefly, 
a posse. If the posse is not able to quell the disturbance, 
the sheriff may apply to the governor, who may send the 
entire national guard of the state to the aid of the sheriff, 
and if necessary may apply to the President, who may in 
that case employ the armed forces of the United States 
for the maintenance of the laws of the state. 

58. The County Attorney is the legal prosecutor and 
adviser in his county. He appears in all cases where the 
county is a party; gives opinions and advice to the com- 
missioners and other county officers upon request; attends 
all terms of the district court in his county, all other 
courts having criminal jurisdiction, and all preliminary 
examinations of criminals; appears before the grand jury 
upon request and examines witnesses in their presence; 
draws all presentments and indictments of the gTand 
jury and carries them to their final determination before 
the district court ; appears for the state in his own county 
upon the request of the attorney-general; receives reports 
touching criminal matters from justices of the peace and 
the clerks of criminal courts, and in turn reports all 
criminal cases to the attorney-general. 

59. The Coroner. — The principal duty of the coroner 
is to hold an inquest upon the body of any person who 
may have met with a violent death, or who, it is believed, 
has died by unlawful means. When the coroner is noti- 
fied of such a case, he immediately summons six citizens 
of the county to act as a jury. If the jury finds that a 
crime has been committed they name the person whom 
they believe to have committed it; the accused person 
may be arrested on the warrant of the coroner, and the 
witnesses testifying before him may be bound over to 
testify in court. In case of the death of the sheriff or 
of his removal from office, or disability, the coroner acts 
as sheriff until another sheriff is chosen or the disability 
is removed. 



62 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA 

60. The County Surveyor is elected to secure accuracy 
in the construction of roads and bridges, and in the sur- 
vey of land. 

61. The County Superintendent of Schools has gen- 
eral supervision of the public schools in the county, ex- 
cept in special and independent districts. He is required 
to visit the schools in the county at least once during 
each year, and to give such directions and suggestions 
as to the course of study and general management as the 
interests of the schools seem to require. He holds ex- 
aminations for teachers' certificates usually in February and 
August, and forwards the papers to the state superintend- 
ent. He may issue teachers' certificates, good only for 
designated districts until the next regular examination. 
He examines and corrects the books required to be kept 
by the officers of the school district, organizes teachers' 
institutes, assists in the management of the district sum- 
mer training schools, and makes an annual report of the 
condition of the schools to the state superintendent of 
public instruction. 1 

The other county officers are appointed by the county 
commissioners. 

THE TOWN. 

62. The Township. — The congressional township is 
an area of land six miles square. The civil or political 
unit called the town or township has been built upon this 
geographical unit in Minnesota. 

To have a successful township form of government the 
following conditions are necessary: 

(1) Dense population, with sufficient wealth to main- 
tain local government in addition to supporting the higher 
units of government. 

1 See Kiehle's " Education in Minnesota/' p. 44. 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 63 

(2) People having somewhat similar ideas in relation 
to local government. 

(3) People having permanent residences, thus creating 
a strong attachment for local or home institutions. 

(4) Convenient and easily accessible areas of land for 
establishing local government. The square is the most 
convenient form. 

(5) Only comparatively small tracts of land should be 
owned or occupied by each family. 

63. Organization. — To convert the congressional town- 
ship into a political unit the action of both the voters and 
the county commissioners is necessary. The proposed new 
town must contain at least twenty-five legal voters. When 
a majority of these petition the county commissioners to 
be organized as a town the commissioners fix the bound- 
aries. A full report is made to the county auditor. 

64. The Town Meeting is a pure democracy in many 
respects, and has been a great political educator in our 
country's history. 

The annual town meeting is held on the second Tuesday 
in March. Special town meetings may be held when the 
supervisors, justices and clerk, or any two of them, with 
at least twelve other free holders file a petition for such 
meeting with the clerk. 

At the annual town meeting there are elected three su- 
pervisors, one clerk, one treasurer, one assessor, two jus- 
tices of the peace, two constables, and one over-seer of roads 
for each road district. 1 

At this meeting the electors also provide for pounds 
and pound-masters; direct the defense in all controversies 
to which the town may be a party; make rules regarding 
fences and the impounding of animals; impose penalties 

i These officers are chosen for one year except the justices and 
constables, who serve two years; and the supervisors who serve 
three years. 



64 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

for the infraction of the rules of the town, except in cases 
provided for by law; raise money for all legitimate town 
purposes. 

65. Duties of Town Officers. — The supervisors are 
to the town what the commissioners are to the county, 
their duties being chiefly executive. Business not dele- 
gated to other town officers is performed by the supervi- 
sors. They act as a board of fence viewers, of health, 
and of auditors. They draw money orders against the 
town, direct the legal actions' of the town, and act as 
judges of election. 

The duties of the justices of the peace and the con- 
stables are described in Chapter III. The titles indicate 
the duties of the other town officers. 

THE MUNICIPALITY. 

66. A Municipality is an aggregation of people living 
in close contact, within a comparatively small territory. 
The necessarily intimate relations of individuals within 
a municipality give rise to special needs not felt by people 
scattered over a larger area. 

THE VILLAGE. 

67. Incorporation. — Any district, section or parts of 
sections not already in any incorporated village, which have 
been platted into lots and blocks, and the plats have been 
filed with the register of deeds, may become incorporated 
as a village provided there is a resident population of not 
more than three hundred, nor less than two hundred 
people. When twenty-five resident voters file a petition 
with the county commissioner an election is held to deter- 
mine the question of incorporation. If the result is fa- 
vorable the commissioners file the certificate of election, 
and the petition with the county auditor, and he reports 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 65 

the matter to the secretary of state. This completes the 
incorporation. 

68. Village Officers. — The organization of the village 
is complete when the village officers are elected. The 
officers are the president, three trustees, a treasurer, a 
clerk, two justices of the peace, and a constable. The 
justices and constable serve two years, the other officers 
one year. 1 

The village council is composed of the president, the 
three trustees, and the clerk. 

Under the restriction of the general law the council 
makes ordinances for the government of the village. The 
council appoints a street commissioner, village attorney, 
pound master and fire wardens. It may establish a fire 
department, and a board of health ; regulate the laying out 
and the use of streets; set out trees; maintain libraries; 
restrain animals; regulate amusements, and the use of 
wells ; issue licenses and provide for taxes. 

In 1896, the constitution of the state was so amended 
as to give every incorporated place of at least a thousand 
people the right to make its own charter within certain 
restrictions laid down in the general laws of the state. 2 

THE CITY. 

69. The Charter. — There are two methods of receiving 
a city charter. The first method is where the people make 
their own charter. The initiative may be taken in two 
different ways, either by the judge or judges of the district 
court who appoint commissioners on their own motion or 
on the request of ten per cent of the legal voters. The 
charter board consists of fifteen free holders, who are at the 

i There is an assessor if the village is a separate election 
district. 

2 See McVey's " The Government of Minnesota," pp. 73-76. 
Also Constitution of Minnesota, Art. IV., Sect. 36. 



66 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

time voters in the city and, have been such for the past 
five years. These persons serve for four years and must 
submit a prepared charter to the mayor for a vote of the 
people within six months. If the charter is accepted by 
four-sevenths of the qualified voters, voting at such elec- 
tion, it becomes the charter of the city within thirty days. 

The second method of receiving a charter is to incorpo- 
rate under the general law of 1895. This is done by a 
petition to the county commissioners, and a favorable vote 
of the people. 1 

70. City Officers. — (1) The Council is based on the 
number of wards. When the council is organized it pre- 
scribes rules for its own guidance; fixes a time for its 
regular meeting and provides for the calling of special 
meetings. A city council is similar to a state legislature 
in its methods of work. The laws passed are called ordi- 
nances, and must be in harmony with the city charter. 
The council elects a city clerk, attorney, engineer, and 
some other officers. 

(2) The mayor is the chief executive officer of the city. 
He is to enforce the laws of the state and the ordinances 
within the- city. He has a general oversight of all the 
other city officers. He informs the city council from 
time to time concerning the affairs of the city, recom- 
mends measures and has the veto power. The mayor 
appoints many officers and is usually a member ex-officio 
of the various city boards of which there are a great 



i The Constitution was amended in 1898, dividing cities into 
four classes, as follows: (1) over 50,000; (2) 50,000 and not 
less than 20,000; (3) 20,000 and not less than 10,000; (4) 
10,000 or less. Art. IV., Sect. 36. 

There are a number of general restrictions even when the city 
forms its own charter. See Revised Laws of Minnesota 1905, 
Sects. 748-758. 



LOCAL GOVERNMENT. 67 

many to carry forward special lines of work as parks, 
public works, 1 etc. 

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. 

71. The School District is the smallest civil division 
of the state. The county is divided, by the action of the 
people and by the county commissioners, into school dis- 
tricts independent of each other. Each district has its 
own school, which it may manage in its own way. It is 

designated as school district number — , county (the 

name of the county in which the district is located), 
State of Minnesota. 

There are three kinds of school districts: (1) the com- 
mon or rural, under the supervision of the county su- 
perintendent and a board of three members; (2) the in- 
dependent, under the supervision of a board of six mem- 
bers and a superintendent whom it selects; (3) the 
special, in large centers of population, under the supervi- 
sion of a board of six or more members, and a superintend- 
ent. 

72. The Annual School Meeting is held in each dis- 
trict on the third Saturday in July at the school house 
belonging to the district. Special meetings may be called 
when necessary. All persons having the qualifications of 
electors may attend and vote at the meeting. In com- 
mon districts the voters, when assembled, may fix a site 
for each school house; order a tax on taxable property; 
provide for hiring teachers, and for furnishing fuel and 
text books; anil transact such other business as tends to 
promote the interests of the schools. 2 The -school meet- 

1 The cities of Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth have very 
elaborate systems of government. For a brief description see 
McVey's " The Government of Minnesota/' p. 83. 

2 Usually the management of the schools is left to the dis- 
cretion of the school board. 



68 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

mg, it will be seen, constitutes almost a pure democracy, 
like the town meeting. It is another instance in the gov- 
ernment of this state in which the people meet and make 
laws directly, instead of through their representatives. 

73. School Directors are elected in the various school 
districts for a term of three years. The officers of the 
board are, a president, a clerk and a treasurer. 

STUDIES ON LOCAL GOVEBNMENT. 
THE COUNTY. 

Make a list of officers showing the following : 

1. How chosen. 3. Terms of service. 

2. Number. 4. Powers and duties. 

THE TOWN. 

1. What are the best conditions for town government? 

2. Should a new community institute town government 
as well as the other units of government at the beginning ? 
Why? 

3. What can you say of the town as a political educator? 

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. 

1. Why should the question of the incorporation of a 
village be submitted to popular vote? 

2. What evils may result from allowing the council to 
share in the appointing power? 

3. Why should showmen be required to procure a license 
in cities? • 

4. What is the meaning of municipal? 

THE SCHOOL DISTRICT. 

1. State the duties of district officers. 

2. Why should the school district be governed by local 
officers ? 

3. Is the government of the school district centralized? 



CHAPTEE V. 
PUBLIC REVENUE. 

74. Sources of Income. — The expenses of state and 
local government are paid almost wholly by means of 
taxes. Taxes are contributions imposed upon individuals 
and upon corporations, in other words, upon property, 
business and persons, for the support of the government 
and for other public purposes. By far the most important 
tax is that which is levied upon property. The law re- 
quires that all property, real 1 and personal, not expressly 
exempt, shall be subject to taxation. In addition to the 
general property tax, several other taxes are authorized 
by law. Licenses are taxes imposed upon persons engag- 
ing in special kinds of business, and hence are called oc- 
cupation taxes. There is a tax of four per cent of the 
gross earnings of railroad, express, insurance, sleeping- 
car, telegraph, and telephone companies; but this tax re- 
lieves these companies from all other taxes. It is lawful 
to levy a poll tax on each voter in municipalities; also 
a tax of from one to four days' work on the roads may 
be required by the town supervisors, of male inhabitants 
between the ages of 21 and 50 years unless exempt. There 

1 Real property or real estate includes land and all things 
directly connected with land, such as buildings, improvements 
upon land, mines, quarries, and the like. Personal property in- 
cludes movable articles of every description, such as money, 
notes, bonds, mortgages, shares in corporations, etc. 

69 



70 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

is a provision for a graduated tax on inheritances. A tax 
of three cents per net ton on all registered tonnage car- 
ried by steam vessels, barges, boats, or other water craft 
is levied on all such vessels hailing from any port of this 
state. 

In addition to receipts from taxation, there are several 
other sources of revenue to the state, the most important 
of which are the interest on the public school income fund 
and the receipts from the sale and rentals on lands given 
to the state for various purposes by the United States 
government. Fees are charges made by state or local 
officers for particular services rendered to individuals. 
The amount that may be charged is fixed by law. The 
income that is derived from this source is considerable. 
Fees also include court costs. Some revenue is derived 
from escheats 1 and fines. 

75. The Assessment of Property. — The property in 
the state is valued by persons called assessors. They are 
elected by the voters in the townships and are appointed 
by the council or elected by the voters in municipalities 
as the charter directs. The county auditor furnishes all 
necessary blanks and books, and on the last Thursday in 
April, meets the' assessors and gives them instructions for 
their work. The assessors do their valuing of property 
during the months of May and June. In even-numbered 
years real and personal property is listed ; in odd-numbered 
years personal property only is assessed. The gross earn- 
ings are reported to the state auditor by the corpora- 
tions concerned. 

The law requires that all property shall be assessed at 
its actual value, but usually it is assessed at much less 

i When a person dies leaving property, not having made a 
will and having no heirs to inherit the property, the state be- 
comes the heir, and the property escheats to the state — that 
is, it becomes the property of the state. 



PUBLIC REVENUE. 71 

than its real value. Public policy requires that certain 
forms of property be exempted from taxation. Among 
these exemptions may be mentioned all public property 
belonging either to the United States or the state, or any 
of its sub-divisions, property used for educational, re- 
ligious or charitable purposes, fire engines, cemeteries, 
public market houses, and public squares. Personal prop- 
erty to the amount of $100.00 for each individual taxed 
is exempt. A member of the national guard has an ex- 
emption of $200. 

76. Review and Equalization of Assessment — There 
are many complaints in regard to assessments. These 
grievances are passed upon and equalization made: 
(1) On the fourth Monday in June after ten days' 
notice the town board, consisting of the supervisors; 
and the assessor, recorder and president of each village; 
and the assessor, recorder, and mayor of each city, unless 
otherwise provided for by law, meet at the office of the 
town clerk or recorder to review the assessments and alter 
valuations as these respective boards may see fit. Ag- 
grieved persons may appear before the board. When the 
board has finished its work the assessors make a sworn 
statement to the county auditor. The auditor examines 
the work and makes corrections of mistakes, if any ap- 
pear. (2) The next board to pass upon assessments con- 
sists of the county commissioners and the county auditor. 
This board meets on the third Monday of July. (3) 
The final board consists of the governor, the state auditor, 
the attorney-general, and one elector for each judicial 
district in the state, and meets on the first Tuesday in 
September. 

The state auditor sends to the various county auditors 
a report of the findings of the state board of equalization. 
The valuation of the property of the state by various 
local subdivisions being found, the next step is to de- 
termine the rate of taxation. 



72 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

The state tax is levied by the state legislature; the 
county tax by the county commissioners; the municipal 
tax by the council ; 1 the town tax by the town meeting ; 
the district tax by the school district meeting or the 
school board, as the case may be. The amounts of money 
needed by each of these divisions must be reported to the 
county auditor by the tenth day of October in each year. 
The county auditor now knowing the total valuation of 
property, and the amount needed by each unit estimates 
the rate of taxation and determines the amount of taxes 
payable by each person and corporation, and sets down the 
amounts opposite the names in the tax roll. This work 
must be completed and the tax roll delivered to the county 
treasurer the first Monday of January. 

77. Collection of Taxes. — Taxes are collected by two 
agencies — the state treasurer and the county treasurer. 
The state treasurer collects the gross earnings tax. The 
corporations that are required to pay this tax must re- 
port their gross earnings by February first, and the tax is 
due on the first of March. If the taxes are not paid when 
due, the state treasurer is authorized to add a penalty of 
twenty-five per cent. 

All other taxes are paid to the county treasurer, except 
fines imposed by a justice of the peace in a city. 

i The tax levy for Mankato stood as follows for 1904 : 

MILLS. 

General state tax 1.50 

General school tax 1 . 00 

State school tax 1.23 

County tax 3 . 00 

Poor tax 67 

Road and bridge tax 1.00 

City tax 16 . 00 

Special school tax 6 . 00 

Total 31.20 



PUBLIC REVENUE. 73 

When the county treasurer receives the tax roll from 
the county auditor he notifies the tax payers either through 
the newspapers or by special notices sent through the mail. 
Taxes on real and personal property are due the first Mon- 
day in January. If the tax on personal property is not 
paid by March first, a penalty of ten per cent, is added. 
On the first of April, the treasurer makes and sends a 
list of the unpaid personal taxes to the clerk of the dis- 
trict court. This officer issues warrants to the county 
sheriff empowering him to seize the property and sell it 
at auction if the tax is not paid within ten days. The 
owner may redeem the property before it is sold by paying 
the tax, penalty and costs. 

The tax on real estate may be paid in two equal in- 
stallments. If the first half is not paid by June 1st, a 
penalty of ten per cent is added. If the second half is 
not paid by November 1st, a ten per cent penalty is 
added. If the whole tax is unpaid on January first, an 
additional penalty of five per cent is added. If tax and 
penalties are not paid by the second Monday in May the 
property is sold, and the judgment bears interest at one 
per cent a month. The owner of the property is given 
three years to redeem it. At the expiration of the three 
year period the county auditor notifies the owner of the 
property if in the county, or if not in the county pub- 
lishes a statement in one of the county papers that the 
time limit has expired. If the owner of the delinquent 
property does not then come forward and pay the judg- 
ment, tax-titles or state deeds are given to the purchaser 
of the land. 

The county treasurer, after collecting the taxes, reports 
to the county auditor. These reports are made on the 
last days of February, May and October. The county 
auditor makes a statement to the state auditor, and opens 
an account of the funds due to the state, county, cities, 
townships and school districts. The county treasurer pays 



74 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

these various political units the sums due on the order 
of the county auditor. 

78. Public Indebtedness. 1 — The state and its various 
political divisions are authorized to borrow money on 
bonds, for the purpose of defraying extraordinary expenses 
and for making public improvements. Before bonds are 
issued the matter must be submitted to the electors and 
be approved by them. When issued, an annual tax must 
be levied to provide the means for paying the interest on 
the bonds and to create a fund for the payment of the 
bonds when they become due. 

Warrants are sometimes issued for the running expenses 
of the government until the taxes are collected. They are 
issued by the officers of the state, county, city or school- 
district and bear interest from the date of registration 
until paid. It does not require a vote of the people to is- 
sue warrants. 

STUDIES ON PUBLIC BEVENUES. 

1. Give the various steps in levying and paying taxes 
from the time the schedule paper is left at the house by 
the assessor, until the taxes are paid. 

2. Should persons having no children pay taxes for the 
support of schools? 

3. For what purposes are taxes raised in a city? 

4. Mention a war caused by taxation. 

5. For what purposes are state taxes levied? 

6. Why should local taxes exceed state taxes? 

7. How is a district school in Minnesota supported? 
How many kinds of school taxes may be levied? 

8. Can you find the total valuation of property in your 
school district ? Township ? City ? County ? State ? 

9. Is any tax paid on your school house? 



i See Arts. IX, XL 



PUBLIC REVENUE. 75 

10. How does the assessed valuation of you home com- 
pare with its actual or market value ? 

11. What difference would it make in the rate, if it 
were assessed at its actual value? 



CHAPTEE VI. 
PUBLIC EDUCATION. 



The constitution of the state says : " The stability of a 
republican form of government depending mainly upon 
the intelligence of the people it shall be the duty of the 
legislature to establish a general and uniform system of 
public schools." * 

An orderly plan for the development of the school sys- 
tem of Minnesota has been worked out in detail. Each 
part bears its proper relation to all the other parts. 

ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION. 

79. Supervision. — The state superintendent of schools 
has general supervision of elementary and secondary edu- 
cation. His work intimately concerns these schools. It 
is effected through the examination of teachers, the work 
of teachers' institutes, training schools, reading circles, 
and educational lectures. He receives and publishes 
biennial reports of all the state educational institutions. 2 

The county superintendent of schools is responsible for 
the direct supervision of rural schools. 

The board of school directors is entrusted by the peo- 
ple with the management of the schools in the school 
districts. 3 

i See Art. VIII., Sect. 1. 

2 See Sect. 36. 

3 School districts are designated as: 1. common; 2. indepen- 
dent; 3. special. 

76 



PUBLIC EDUCATION. 77 

The high school board consisting of the state superin- 
tendent, president of the state university, president of the 
board of directors for the state normal schools, a su- 
perintendent or principal of a state high school, and one 
other person has supervision of state schools, receiving 
special state aid. The work of this board is carried out 
by two salaried inspectors — one for high schools and the 
other for graded schools. 

80. The School System. — The schools of the state are 
organized under the district system. A school district is 
a body corporate having authority within a definite ter- 
ritory. The school district in order to receive its share 
of the state school fund must maintain a school at least 
five months in each year. 

81. Common or Rural Schools are under the supervi- 
sion of the county superintendent of schools. He prepares 
the course of study which must include arithmetic, geog- 
raphy, history of the United States, English grammar, 
civil government, physiology and hygiene, with special 
reference to the effect of narcotics. 

Pupils finishing the course as outlined are usually given 
a certificate by the county superintendent. The pupils 
from the rural schools may take the examinations offered 
by the examiner for the state high school board. Success 
in these examinations will admit the candidate to a state 
high school. 

The consolidation of rural schools, now provided by 
law, promises to improve their work greatly. 1 

82. The Graded and Semi-Graded Schools. — The vil- 
lage and city schools are under the general direction of the 
school boards, but under the immediate supervision of a 
principal or superintendent. 

(1) The kindergarten was provided for by the legisla- 
•> — ■ 

i For a discussion of this subject see Thirteenth Biennial Re- 
port of the state superintendent of public instruction p. 417. 



78 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

ture in 1901. Any school board in the state may estab- 
lish a kindergarten in connection with the public schools 
of the district for the training of children between the ages 
of four and five years. These schools must be supported 
by a district tax or by donations. The kindergarten can- 
not share in the state school funds. The teachers in these 
schools must hold a teacher's certificate as provided by 
law. 

(2) The elementary school embraces eight grades, 1 
each grade usually requiring one year for completion. 
The instruction includes the subjects required by law, and 
in addition some elementary work in the natural sciences, 
gymnastics, singing and drawing. Some schools are in- 
troducing manual training. 

The pupils pass from the eighth grade into the high 
school on the certificate of the examiner for the state 
high school board or on a regular promotion certificate. 

83. The Secondary or High School embraces four 
grades, covering four years, and completes the work of 
the elementary school. There is no uniform course of 
study prescribed by the state. Each district formulates 
its own course of study; but considerable uniformity is 
secured through the work of the state high school inspector. 
The course of instruction in these schools furnishes the 
means for acquiring a fair general education, and meets 
the requirements for admission to the institutions of 
higher learning. 

1 A " graded school " often offers from one to two years of 
high school work..- A " graded school " is one that has at least 
four departments in charge of a principal, holding a state pro- 
fessional or other high grade certificate, and that has at least 
nine months of school in the year and suitable equipment. A 
" semi-graded school " is one that has at least two departments 
in charge of proficient teachers, one of whom holds not less than 
a first grade certificate. The school must be maintained at least 
eight months each year, and have good equipment. 



QTQ 

W 
a 

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o 
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80 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

84. Compulsory Education. — The state requires every 
child between the ages of eight and eighteen to attend 
some school in which the common English branches are 
taught, unless excused by the school board for cause. 
School boards may appoint truant officers, maintain truant 
schools, and take the first steps to have incorrigible chil- 
dren sentenced to the state training school by the proper 
authority. 

85. The Revenue for the support of the public schools 
is derived from state, county, and district sources. 

(a) The general or current school fund is made up from 
state and county sources. 

1. The state revenue for the general fund is derived 
from the proceeds of the public school investment fund ; x 
from interest on the deferred payments of school lands; 
from proceeds arising from the lease of school lands ; from 
escheats, gifts, the receipts from the sales of pine timber, 
mineral leases and royalties; and from a tax of one mill 
levied on all the taxable property of the state. This state 
fund is apportioned among the various counties once 
every six months by the superintendent of public instruc- 
tion. 

2. The county revenue for the general fund is derived 
mainly from a county tax of one mill, which the county 
commissioners are required to levy on all taxable property 
of the county. A considerable sum is realized from fines, 
penalties, forfeitures, and liquor licenses. 

The general fund is apportioned by the county auditor 
at regular intervals among the various districts, in pro- 
portion to their school population that has attended school 
forty days, in a school that has maintained at least five 
months of school within the year. 

(b) Special school funds. 

1. The school district tax. This tax is levied by the 

iThis fund at present (1906) amounts to $15,978,447.66. 



PUBLIC EDUCATION. 81 

school districts in common districts; and by the school 
boards in independent and special districts. 1 

2. Special state aid. In addition to the funds already 
described the state gives annually, special aid as follows 
to schools that attain a prescribed standard of excellence: 

(1) to each rural or common school that employs a 
teacher holding a second grade certificate, $50.00; (2) 
to each rural school that employs a teacher holding a first 
grade certificate, $125,00; (3) to each semi-graded school 
of two or three departments, $250.00; (1) to each graded 
school of four or more departments, $550.00; (5) to each 
high school $1,500.00 with an additional $750.00 to a high 
school that provides special normal instruction in the com- 
mon branches. 

3. Special state aid for miscellaneous purposes. The 
state appropriates annually the sum of $15,000 for the es- 
tablishment and maintenance of school libraries. The 
state will aid any school district towards the purchase of 
a library to the amount of $20.00, on the first order for 
each building, and $10.00 annually thereafter, provided 
that the district raises a like amount and purchases the 
books from the state contractor and orders from the list 
prepared by the state library board. The state also ap- 
propriates $5,000 annually to provide for traveling li- 
braries to circulate in the state. A large annual appro- 
priation is made for teachers' training schools. The state 
assists in a somewhat different phase of educational work 
by appropriating $10,000 for the support of farmers' insti- 
tutes. These are to disseminate practical knowledge upon 
such subjects as agriculture, horticulture, stock and dairy 
farming. 

86. Licensing of Teachers. — A person holding a certi- 
ficate, granted by lawful authority, is legally qualified to 
teach in the public schools of the state. 

i The limit of special tax by each district is regulated by law. 



82 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

(a) Kinds and value of certificates. 

1. State Professional Certificates are of two kinds, first 
and second grade, and are valid in any public school in 
the state so long as the holder is engaged in educational 
work, but are void three years after he ceases such work, 
unless renewed by the state superintendent. 

2. The State Certificates are of two kinds, first and 
second grade. The first grade is valid for five years in 
any public school in the state, except high schools; but 
a board of education in either a special or an independent 
district may decline to honor either the first or second 
grade state certificate. The second grade is valid for two 
years only in the county in which issued; but it may be 
endorsed and thus made valid in another county by the 
county superintendent of schools. 

3. County Certificates may be issued by the county su- 
perintendent under certain circumstances. The county 
superintendent may issue a limited second grade certifi- 
cate, good for one year, to an inexperienced person seven- 
teen years of age if he has passed the examination ; a third 
grade, good for one year in a designated district, and sub- 
ject to one renewal in the same county; he may issue a 
certificate of any grade for a designated district once, 
good until the next examination, to persons who were 
unable to attend the previous examination. 

4. Diplomas as Certificates. The holder of a state first 
grade certificate under which he has taught successfully 
one year is entitled to a state professional certificate with- 
out examination, if he holds the diploma of a college or 
university of good standing. Certificates of graduation 
in the department of pedagogy in the state university, 
and diplomas of the state normal schools have the force 
of first grade certificates for two years. The certificates 
of the department of pedagogy in the state university, 
and the diplomas of either the English, the Latin, the 
advanced graduate course, or the kindergarten course of 



PUBLIC EDUCATION. 83 

the state normals become life certificates, if endorsed by 
the state superintendent, and the president of the school 
issuing them, if the holders have taught successfully two 
years after graduation. The holder of a diploma from the 
elementary course, or the elementary graduate course of a 
state normal, may, on the endorsement of the same per- 
sons, receive first grade certificates for five years. These 
may be extended by reendorsement. 

5. Miscellaneous, The state superintendent may grant 
professional permits good for one year, to teachers who 
lack not more than three of the branches required for a 
professional certificate. He may grant special certificates 
to teach music, drawing, any specified language or any 
other special subject in any high or graded school to 
persons passing a satisfactory examination in the branches 
required for a second grade certificate, and such special 
subjects as the applicant proposes to teach. The state 
superintendent may issue certificates without an examina- 
tion to persons that have taught in the public schools of 
the state, for at least five years, and that comply with 
certain legal requirements. 

A county or city superintendent, as the case may be, 
has the power to revoke any certificate for good cause, 
but the teacher may appeal from such decision to the 
state superintendent of public instruction. 

(b) Examinations. The examinations for the state pro- 
fessional certificates are conducted by a board of three, 
appointed by the state superintendent. Those are held 
twice a year, in August at the state university; and at 
the capitol during the Christmas holidays. The examina- 
tions for the state certificates are held usually in February 
and August, by the county superintendents in the various 
counties of the state. The questions are prepared and the 
papers marked under the direction of the state superin- 
tendent. The marks in professional ability and moral 
character are furnished by the county superintendent of 



84 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

schools, and the certificates are signed by the state su- 
perintendent of public instruction, and the county su- 
perintendent of schools. 

87. Special Schools x are maintained by the state for 
the unfortunate, vagrant, and criminal classes. These 
schools stand outside the regular school system of the state. 
They are not asylums, but are well equipped schools with 
faculties of highly trained specialists. 

HIGHER AND PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION. 

The state institutions for higher and professional edu- 
cation in Minnesota, include the five state normal schools, 
and crowning the entire system, the state university. 

These institutions of higher learning are as much a part 
of the educational system as are the common schools. No 
system of education is complete which stops with the mere 
rudimentary elements of learning. 

88. The State Normal Schools in the order of their 
establishment are as follows: (1) Winona, 1860; (2) 
Mankato, 1868; (3) St. Cloud, 1869; (4) Moorhead, 
1888; (5) Duluth, 1902. 

The aim of the state normal schools is to reduce teach- 
ing to a science in the professional training of teachers. 
The courses embrace academic subjects, and theoretical 
and practical pedagogy. 2 

The courses 3 offered include: 

(1) an English course of five years; (2) a Latin 

i See Sects. 94, 96, 100. 

2 Teachers' institutes are held in some counties for one week. 
During the summer, teachers' training schools are held for either 
four or six weeks. These tend to professionalize the work of 
teaching. 

s For the value of the diploma awarded for each of these 
courses see Sect. 86. Tuition is free, except in the kinder- 
garten course, to any person pledging himself to teach two years 
in the state after graduation. 



CO 



g 




86 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

course of five years; (3) an advanced graduate course of 
two years; (4) an elementary graduate course of one 
year; (5) a kindergarten training course of two years; 
(6) and an elementary course of three years. The courses 
numbered three, four and five are for high school or col- 
lege graduates. 

An elementary school or training department is main- 
tained in connection with each state normal school. 

89. The State University is located at Minneapolis. 
Its history is co-extensive with that of the state. 1 

The university has brought itself into close relation 
with the public high and elementary schools of the state 
through the work of the inspector of high schools and the 
system of accrediting schools. In this way pupils in the 
various public schools look forward to a university course 
as their ultimate educational goal. 

90. Control and Maintenance of Higher State 
Schools. — The state normal schools are managed by a 
board of nine directors, and the state university by a 
board of regents consisting of twelve members. 

The state normal schools are supported by appropria- 
tions made by the state legislature. The state university 
is supported by (1) funds arising from the gifts of the 
United States government; (2) the 23-100 mill tax on the 
property of the state, and by deficiency appropriations 
made by the state from time to time; (3) fees and mis- 
cellaneous sources of income. 2 

The people of Minnesota are noted for their deep inter- 
est in education. In most instances they tax themselves 
liberally for the support of the schools. 3 

i The usual academic degrees are granted by the university. 

2 Either an incidental fee or a regular tuition fee is charged 
students. The fee charged is based on which course is taken 
and on whether the student is a resident or a non-resident of 
the state. 

s There are several sectarian institutions of higher learning in 



PUBLIC EDUCATION. 8? 



STUDIES ON PUBLIC EDUCATION. 

1. Index the constitution, showing all references to edu- 
cational affairs. 

2. What was the origin of school lands? 

3. How much land was given by congress to the state 
university ? 

4. From what sources are funds for the public schools 
derived ? 

5. What is the object of granting a diploma ? 

6. Why does the state provide for public schools? 

7. Are you in favor of an educational qualification for 
voters ? 

8. Give the date of the annual school meeting in the 
school districts. 

9. On what basis are the state school funds apportioned 
among the school districts? 

10. What is meant by " free text-books " ? 

11. How many people of school age are there in your 
district? How many attended school last year? What 
did the school of your district cost last year ? How much 
of this money was spent for you ? How much did it cost 
to provide you one day's schooling? 

12. What is the value of school property in your dis- 
trict; in your county; in the state? 

Minnesota, that confer degrees. The most notable of these are: 
Hamline University (Methodist Episcopal) ; Carlton College 
( Congregational ) ; McAlister College (Presbyterian) ; Gustavus 
Adolphus (Swedish Lutheran) ; St. Olaf (Norwegian Lutheran) ; 
St. Thomas (Roman Catholic). 



CHAPTEB VII. 

BENEVOLENT, PENAL AND REFORMATORY INSTI- 
TUTIONS. 



91. Classes. — It is characteristic of highly developed 
civilization that the state interests itself in the weak mem- 
bers of its society; endeavors to improve the condition of 
the defective and dependent ; and enforces the laws against 
the lawless. The state must constantly care for the fol- 
lowing classes : 

(1) The defective. 

(2) The dependent. 

(3) The delinquent. 

BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 

92. The Defective Class includes the insane, the blind, 
the deaf and dumb, and the feeble-minded. For all these 
Minnesota makes liberal provision. 

93. Insane Defectives. — The insane may be divided 
into two classes ; those needing special treatment, and those 
needing only care and oversight. For the latter the law 
provides conservatorship, which is secured through the 
probate court. If the court and board of examiners de- 
cide that a person needs special treatment, application is 
made to the superintendent of the insane hospitals or 
asylums for the admission of the afflicted person. 

The state hospitals for the insane were located and 
opened as follows: (1) at St. Peter, 1866; (2) at 
Eochester, 1879; (3) at Fergus Falls, 1890. The state 

88 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 89 

asylums were located and opened as follows: (1) at Anoka, 
1900; (2) at Hastings, 1900. 1 

94. Schools for Sane Defectives. — There are three 
state schools for defectives, located at Faribault: (1) 
school for the deaf and dumb; (2) for the blind; (3) 
for the feeble-minded. 2 These schools were originally one, 
which was opened in 1863. The different institutions are 
under separate superintendents and highly trained facul- 
ties. These schools are practically free. 

95. The Dependent Class. — The liability for the sup- 
port or care of the poor falls first upon the relatives of 
such persons, and then upon the public. Poor relief is 
either administered by (1) the county or (2) the town, 
city, or village. The first is called the county system, 
and the second the town, The county commissioners are 
superintendents of the poor in their county. They have 
power to purchase and maintain a poor house or poor 
farrr^ and an infirmary. 

In the counties that have the town system of poor relief, 
the town boards in the towns, and the councils in cities 
and villages are superintendents of the poor. 

When relief is complete or the persons are housed, 
clothed, fed, and cared for, the method is called indoor 
relief; when the aid is partial and temporary, and the 
person is allowed to remain in his usual abode the help 
is called out door relief. 

If a pauper dies within a county of this state, the 
county commissioners order a decent burial to be given 
such person at the expense of the county. 

96. State Institutions for Dependents. — The state 
maintains three institutions for the dependent classes. 

1. The State Public School is situated at Owatonna, and 

i In 1904, there were 3935 patients in the state institutions 
for the insane. 
2 In 1904 there were 1228 pupils in these schools. 



90 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

was opened in 1886. The purpose of the school is to fur- 
nish a temporary home for dependent and neglected chil- 
dren, and provide them with proper and permanent homes, 
and to see that the children receive proper schooling, both 
in the school and in the homes to which they are assigned. 
Girls over one and under fifteen, and boys over one and 
under sixteen may be admitted on complaint of the county 
board of commissioners and a proper finding of the pro- 
bate judge. A few children are admitted from the distirct 
and municipal courts in which parents or guardians are 
prosecuted for ill treatment of their children and are 
found to be improper guardians of them. 

2. The Sanatorium -for Consumptives was definitely es- 
tablished by act of the legislature in 1903. A site has 
been purchased near Walker, on Leech Lake. Only per- 
sons who have resided in the state throughout the year 
preceding application, and who are afflicted with incipient 
pulmonary tuberculosis are received. A careful examina- 
tion of the applicant is made by a board of physicians. 
When an applicant is unable to pay the charges fixed by 
the advisory commission of the institution the charges are 
paid by the county from which he comes. 

3. The State Soldiers' Home was located (1887) at 
Minnehaha Palls on a tract of wooded land donated to 
the state by the city of Minneapolis. The home is for 
honorably discharged soldiers, sailors and marines of the 
United States who served in the Mexican war, the Civil 
War, or the Spanish war, and for persons who actually 
served in any campaign against the Indians in 1862. 
No person is admitted unless he has been a resident of the 
state the year preceding the date of his application, and 
is without adequate means of support. 

The board of trustees is authorized by law to admit 
wives with their husbands, and the widows or mothers, of 
those who are, or if living would be, eligible for admis- 
sion. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 91 

The burial of indigent soldiers may be paid by the state. 
This work of gratitude to the men who preserved the 
nation is among the most worthy that has been under- 
taken by the state. 

PENAL AND REFORMATORY INSTITUTIONS. 

97. The Delinquent Class includes vagabonds, in- 
corrigibles and criminals. Persons convicted of crimes or 
misdemeanors are detained or imprisoned either in the city 
prisons, county jails, the state training school, state re- 
formatory, or state penitentiary. 

98. City Prisons are managed by the city authorities 
and are used only for the detention and punishment of 
those violating the city ordinances. In many counties of 
the state the cities use the county jails under certain 
regulations. 

99. A County Jail is provided in the different counties 
of the state. The county sheriff has charge of the jail 
and the prisoners. The counties do not provide sufficient 
employment for the prisoners so that in most cases the 
prisoners are compelled to lead an idle life, a condition 
of affairs which has led many competent prison inspec- 
tors to say, " The county and the city jails are common 
schools of crime and vice." 

100. The State Training School for Boys and Girls 
was established at St. Paul in 1866, but was moved to 
Eed Wing in 1895. Justice and municipal courts have 
authority to commit youthful offenders who are between 
the ages of eight and seventeen; but the commitment of 
the justice of the peace is not final until approved by the 
judge of the district court. Children are committed for 
vagrancy, incorrigibility, and minor offenses until they are 
twenty-one years of age, unless they are sooner discharged 
or bound out to some suitable person by the board of con- 
trol. The boys and girls are required to do the work 



92 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

about the institution. They are educated in the common 
branches, and in addition to this the boys are taught a 
trade, while the girls are trained in domestic industries. 

The law contemplates that this institution shall be a 
school or reformatory rather than a juvenile prison. 1 

101. The State Reformatory was established at St. 
Cloud in 1887. Young men between the ages of sixteen 
and thirty, committed for the first offense, are sent there 
for reformation. The sentences are for an indefinite time, 
but must not be for a longer term than would have been 
imposed had the convict been sentenced to the peniten- 
tiary. The discipline and general management are similar 
to those of the penitentiary. The inmates are taught a 
trade, are instructed in the common branches if they are 
deficient in these, and are paroled whenever such a course 
seems best and proper employment can be secured. Sev- 
eral industries are carried on in the institution. 

102. The State Penitentiary is located at Stillwater, 
and was the second institution established after the organi- 
zation of the territory. The punishment in this institution 
consists of the hard labor required of each convict, and 
the silence he is compelled to maintain. Prisoners may 
reduce their sentences and also be paroled by good be- 
havior. 

A night school, a Chautauqua society, a good library, 
a prison paper, a brass band, an orchestra, and religious 
services are maintained for the benefit of the convicts. 
The state derives considerable revenue from the manufac- 
ture of shoes and binding twine in the state prison. 

When a convict is discharged from the state prison he 
is given a good substantial suit of clothes and $25.00 in 

i January 1, 1905, there were 298 boys and 83 girls in the in- 
stitution. Besides these there were 569 boys and 60 girls on 
parole. 



PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 93 

money by the state. The state board of pardons has power 
to grant paroles under conditions prescribed by law. 

103. Supervisory Boards. — The state institutions de- 
scribed in this chapter are all under the direction of the 
state board of control, except schools for the deaf and 
dumb, and the blind. These two schools have separate 
boards appointed by the governor, with the consent of the 
Senate. The county and city institutions are maintained 
and supervised by the local authorities. 

The state board of pardons has power to grant pardons, 
reprieves and to commute sentences to convicts. Paroled 
prisoners from either the reformatory or state prison are 
under the charge of state agents or overseers. 

Neglect and revenge should not characterize our treat- 
ment of the three classes discussed. Their condition calls 
for conscientious, philanthropic treatment. 



STUDIES ON BENEVOLENT, PENAL, AND EE- 
FOEMATOEY INSTITUTIONS. 

1. Name the three classes that must be cared for by the 
state. 

2. Do you believe the humane spirit is growing? Give 
reasons. 

3. Will education solve the question of crime? 

4. State your opinion in regard to the " indeterminate 
sentence." 

5. What is meant by " police power"? 

6. What are the objects in view when the state inflicts 
punishment ? 

7. Should the labor of convicts be brought into competi- 
tion with the labor of honest persons ? 

8. How many inmates are there in the penitentiary al 
the present time ? 



CHAPTEE VIII. 
ELECTIONS. 



104. The Nomination of Candidates is quite as impor- 
tant as voting for them after they are selected or nomi- 
nated. 

1. The Primary Election as a method of nominating 
candidates was adopted and made compulsory in this state 
in 1899. The election is for party nominees and includes 
candidates for all elective offices, except (1) town, village, 
and state offices; (2) members of school, park, and library 
boards in cities having less than 100,000 inhabitants. The 
primary election is held in each elective district on Tues- 
day seven weeks before a regular general election, and in 
a city at least three weeks before the regular election. 
Fifteen days' notice of the election must be given. The 
day of the primary election is also the first day for the 
registration of voters. 

At least twenty days before the primary election, any 
person eligible and desirous of having his name placed 
upon the primary ticket for any office in a district larger 
than a county, files an affidavit with the secretary of state 
and pays a fee of $20.00; when the office is within a single 
county the affidavit is filed with the county auditor, and 
the fee is $10.00. No fee is charged unless the office is a 
salaried one. The affidavit must state: (1) residence; 
(2) voting qualifications in the subdivision where he seeks 
the nomination; (3) name of his party; (4) office for 
which he desires to be a candidate. 

94 



ELECTIONS. 95 

The details of preparing, casting, counting, and can- 
vassing the ballots, and declaring the result, are carefully 
regulated by law. 

2. Conventions for the nomination of party candidates 
are used for those officers not provided for by the primary 
election law; but the law does not apply to elections in 
villages, towns, or school districts; nor do the require- 
ments as to notice of delegate elections apply for candi- 
dates to be voted for at a special election. The delegates 
meet in convention and nominate candidates. The certifi- 
cate of nomination of a candidate selected by a convention 
must be signed and sworn to by the presiding officer and 
secretary. The secretary immediately delivers the certifi- 
cate of nomination to the officer charged with directing 
the printing of the ballots. 

3. Nomination by Certificate. — Candidates for any 
office may be nominated by certificate. A certificate of 
nomination for any office must contain the name, resi- 
dence, business, and address of the candidate, the party 
which he represents and the office for which he is nomi- 
nated. The certificate of nomination must be signed by 
a legally designated number of voters. 

105. The Ballots are designated as the (1) " white 
ballot " for the names of all candidates to be voted for 
throughout the state; (2) the "pink ballot" for constitu- 
tional and other questions to be voted upon throughout the 
state; (3) the " red ballot" for city elections; (4) the 
" blue ballot " 1 for all names and questions not printed 
on the other ballots. Certificates for the white ballot 
must be filed with the secretary of state by the fifth Sat- 
urday before the election ; for the red ballot with the city 
clerk by the second Saturday before the election; for the 
blue ballot, with the county auditor by the third Tuesday 

i Nos. 1 and 2 are prepared by the secretary of state; No. 3 
by the city clerk, and Xo. 4 by the county auditor. 



96 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

before the election. If his name appear upon the white 
ballot each candidate pays a fee of $50.00; if upon the 
red ballot, for a city of 3,000 people, $5.00 for less than 
3,000, $2.00; if upon the blue ballot, $10.00 in case the 
candidate is to be voted for in one county only, otherwise 
$20.00. If no compensation is provided by law for the 
office, or if the office be that of presidential elector no nomi- 
nation fee is required. The size of the ballot and the 
arrangement of the printed names are all carefully regu- 
lated by law. 

106. Elections. — All elections in this state, except 
school district elections and elections for United States 
senators, are held in accordance with the modified Aus- 
tralian ballot law passed by the legislature. 1 

The regular elections for presidential electors, members 
of congress, state and county officers, members of the legis- 
lature, and district judge are held on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November. The regular town 
and city election is held on the. second Tuesday in March. 
Each town, each village that is separated from the town 
for election purposes and each city ward constitutes at 
least one election district, and contains as near as may be 
400 male voters. 

107. Election Officers. — For each voting precinct 
there are three judges 2 of election, representing at least 
two political parties. The town board in townships, and 
the council in villages having but one district, and this not 
connected with a township, act as election judges; the 
councils in other municipalities about one month before 
the election appoint three qualified electors in each dis- 

i School district elections are held on the third Saturday in 
July. 

2 In cities of the first, second, and third classes one additional 
judge, and two additional clerks, known as ballot judges and 
clerks are appointed. 



ELECTIONS. 97 

trict to act as judges. Each district has two clerks. The 
town and village clerks are ex-officio election clerks, the 
other clerks are appointed by the election judges from 
opposing political parties. No person is eligible as either 
judge or clerk of election unless he can read, write and 
speak the English language understanding^, nor if he is 
a candidate for any office. These judges have general 
supervision of the registration of voters, the polling-place, 
and ballot-box; declare the opening and closing of the 
polls ; appoint clerks to assist them ; and see that the elec- 
tion laws are complied with. At the close of the polls, 
they count the votes and certify the result to the proper 
officer. They have charge of the ballot-boxes and return 
them to the proper officers together with all ballots voted, 
those spoiled, and those unused. 

108. Voters and Voting. — Voting is not a natural 
right, but is a privilege conferred by law. The constitu- 
tion and statutes of Minnesota make the following persons 
voters : ( 1 ) all male citizens of the United States of speci- 
fied age and residence qualifications; (2) persons of mixed 
white and Indian blood that have adopted the customs and 
habits of civilization; (3) civilized Indians, after an ex- 
amination by the district court. By authority of the con- 
stitution, women may vote on all matters pertaining to 
schools and libraries on the same general conditions as 
male voters. 1 

The polling-places are provided at the public expense. 
Each polling place has one white, one pink, one blue, and 
one red ballot-box, and when women vote a separate ballot 
box for women. Each polling place is provided with a 
guard rail and with one voting-booth for each fifty voters 
in the precinct. The judges, clerks, challengers, peace 
officers, and a limited number of voters are the only per- 
sons allowed behind the guard rail. When the voter gives 

iSee Art. VII., Sect. 1. 



98 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

his name he is admitted behind the guard rail, if his name 
is found on the registry list. The ballot judge supplies 
the voter with an official ballot. This ballot must be 
endorsed with the initials of two judges of opposite polit- 
ical parties. The voter then retires into one of the com- 
partments or booths to prepare his ballot. This is done 
by placing a mark (X) in the square opposite the group 
of party candidates if there are presidential electors to be 
chosen; for other officers he places a like mark (X) opposite 
the printed name of each candidate for whom he desires 
to vote, or he may write in blank spaces left for the pur- 
pose the name of the candidate of his own choice. If the 
ballot contains a question submitted to the people the voter 
places the same kind of a mark (X) in the square after 
the word or words that show how he intends to vote. At 
any time before the vote is cast, either a judge or a party 
representative may challenge the voter's qualification when 
the voter must retire or swear his vote in. 1 

The voter then folds his ballots so that no one can see 
how he has voted, hands them to the ballot judges who 
deposits them in the appropriate box. The number of the 
ballots and the voter's name are entered in the poll book, 
and the voter immediately leaves the polling place. When 
the voter cannot read English or is physically unable to 
mark his ballot, assistance may be given by the judges or 
by some voter whom the judges designate. 2 

109. Determining the Results. — Immediately after 
the polls are closed, the judges of election unlock the 
ballot box, count the -votes, and prepare a written state- 
ment showing the number of votes cast for each candidate. 

i The object of the Australian ballot system is that the ballot 
may be made absolutely secret. 

2 Municipalities may provide automatic voting machines for 
the use of voters. See Revised Laws of Minnesota, 1905, Sects. 
344-347. 



ELECTIONS. 99 

In city elections the returns are made to the city clerk. 
The council canvasses the returns within two days of 
election, and the candidates having the highest number 
of votes are given certificates of election. In all other 
elections the returns are made to the county auditor. 
The county auditor calls to his assistance two justices 
of the peace of opposite political parties; the auditor 
and these justices, together with the chairman of the 
county board of commissioners, canvass the vote. This 
canvass must be made within ten days of the election. 
The county auditor issues certificates of election to the 
candidates for county and local offices who have received 
the highest number of votes. He also makes abstracts of 
the number of votes cast for all state offices, for members 
of the legislature, representatives in congress and electors 
for president and vice president of the United States if 
these are voted for at this election, and forwards them to 
the secretary of state. This officer presents the abstracts 
to the state board of canvassers on the third Tuesday in 
December after the election. This board examines the 
statements and determines which candidates have received 
the highest number of votes. The secretary of state issues 
certificates of election in accordance with the decision of 
the board. These certificates are signed by the governor 
and secretary of state. 

There is a third canvassing board for state officers chosen 
in districts larger than a county. 

110. Safeguards against Fraud. — In order to secure 
an honest expression of the people's choice in elections, 
many laws have been passed to protect electors and to 
prevent or punish corruption and bad practices. To pre- 
vent the casting of illegal votes, each elector must be regis- 
tered. The judges of election sit as a board of registration 
about seven weeks before a general election, and fourteen 
days before a special election. There is also a second 
registration day. 

L Of Ce 



100 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

Another safeguard against illegal voting is that the vote 
of any elector may be challenged, in which case he is not 
allowed to vote, unless he takes an oath affirming his 
qualifications. 

Polling places must not be within fifty feet of a saloon ; 
all saloons must be closed on election day, and no person 
is allowed to vote while grossly intoxicated; employes en- 
titled to vote may, without loss of pay, take the forenoon 
for this purpose ; bribery is defined and a punishment pro- 
vided; false registration, personation, offering duplicate 
ballots, advancing money to be unlawfully used at or be- 
fore an election, coercing or improperly influencing voters, 
defacing poll lists, or removing ballots from polling rooms, 
etc., are defined either as felonies or gross misdemeanors; 
the method by which the election judges determine resi- 
dence, count votes, make returns, open, close, seal, and 
deliver ballot boxes is carefully regulated by law. 

Each candidate is required to make in duplicate, within 
thirty days of the election, a sworn statement of the 
amount of money expended by him for election purposes. 
The amount of money so expended is limited by law, and 
legal election expenses are defined. The candidate files 
one statement of expenses with the county auditor and 
the other with the officer, whose duty it is to issue the cer- 
tificate of election. Each party or campaign committee is 
required to file a similar statement showing in detail the 
amount of money received, and the purpose for which it 
was expended. The violation of these provisions is pun- 
ishable by fine and imprisonment. 

There are so many ways in which corruption in elec- 
tions is possible, that the greatest care is taken to frame 
and enforce strict laws to check it. 

111. Contested Elections. — Where a candidate for 
office who has been declared defeated is not satisfied with 
the result, provision is made by law by which he may 



ELECTIONS. 101 

contest the election. This constitutes a valuable safeguard 
against fraudulent elections. 

112. The Officer-Elect.— The candidate who has re- 
ceived the certificate of election is the officer-elect. When 
the term for which his predecessor was elected or appointed 
has expired/ and when he has qualified, by taking an oath 
to support the constitution of the United States and of 
the state of Minnesota, and faithfully to discharge the 
duties of his office, and by filing the proper bond, he be- 
comes a public officer. 

STUDIES ON ELECTIONS. 

1. What does- the word "politics" mean? 

2. What can one citizen do to secure good nomina- 
tions ? 

3. How do people know who are elected, long before 
the boards of canvassers meet? 

4. Should a person change his political principles while 
in office ? 

5. Make a ticket for the next general election. 

6. Is bolting ever justifiable? 

7. What advantages has election over appointment? 
What advantages has appointment over election? 

8. .Should school directors belong to the majority 
party ? Why ? 

9. What is meant by the "Australian ballot"? 

10. How would you decide which of several candidates 
to vote for? 

11. What is your opinion of " voting the straight 
ticket"? 

12. What is your opinion of " voting for the best man "? 

13. What do you mean by "voting for the issue" ? 

i Most officers begin their duties on the first Monday in Janu- 
ary after their election, 



CONSTITUTION 



OF THE 



STATE OF MINNESOTA. 



Preamble. We, the people of the state of Minnesota, grateful 
to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to 
perpetuate its blessings and secure the same to ourselves and 
our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution: 

ARTICLE I. 

BILL OF BIGHTS. 

Section 1. Government is instituted for the security, benefit 
and protection of the people, in whom all political power is in- 
herent, together with the right to alter, modify or reform such 
government, whenever the public good may require it. 

Sec. 2. No member of this State shall be disfranchised, or de- 
prived of any of the rights or privileges secured to any citizen 
thereof, unless by the law of the land, or the judgment of his 
peers. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude 
in the State otherwise than in the punishment of crime, whereof 
the party shall have been duly convicted. 

Sec. 3. The liberty of the press shall forever remain inviolate, 
and all persons may freely speak, write and publish their senti- 
ments on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of such 
right. 

Sec. 4. The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate, and 
shall extend to all cases at law without regard to the amount 
in controversy, but a jury trial may be waived by the parties 
in all cases in the manner prescribed by law; [and the legisla- 
ture may provide that the agreement of five-sixths of any jury 

102 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 103 

in any civil action or proceeding, after not less than six (6) 
hours' deliberation, shall be a sufficient verdict therein.] * 

Sec. 5. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor shall ex- 
cessive fines be imposed; nor shall cruel or unusual punishments 
be inflicted. 

Sec. 6. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy 
the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury 
of the county or district wherein the crime shall have been 
committed, which county or district shall have been previously 
ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and 
cause of the accusation, to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses 
in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel in his de- 
fense. 

Sec. 7. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal 
offense without due process of law, and no person for the 
same offense shall be put twice in jeopardy of punishment, 
nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property 
without due process of law. All persons shall before convic- 
tion be bailable by sufficient sureties, except for capital offenses 
when the proof is evident or the presumption great; and the 
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended 
unless when in case of rebellion or invasion the public safety 
may require. 

Sec. 8. Every person is entitled to a certain remedy in the 
laws for all injuries or wrongs which he may receive in his 
person, property or character; he ought to obtain justice freely 
and without purchase; completely and without denial; promptly 
and without delay, conformable to the laws. 

Sec. 9. Treason against the State shall consist only in levy- 
ing war against the same, or in adhering to its enemies, 
giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of 
treason unless on the testimony of two witnesses to the same 
overt act, or on confession in open court. 

Sec. 10. The right of the people to be secure in their per- 
sons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue 
but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and 

* The clause in brackets was adopted Nov. 4, 1890. 



104 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

particularly describing the place to be searched and the person 
or things to be seized. 

Sec. 11. No bill of attainder, ex post facto law, nor any law 
impairing the obligation of contracts shall ever be passed, and 
no conviction shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of 
estate. 

Sec. 12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt in this State, 
(a) but this shall not prevent the legislature from providing 
for imprisonment, or holding to bail, persons charged with 
fraud in contracting said debt. A reasonable amount of prop- 
erty shall be exempt from seizure or sale for the payment 
of any debt or liability. The amount of such exemption shall 
be determined by law. [Provided, hoivever, that all property 
so exempted shall be liable to seizure and sale for any debts 
incurred to any person for work done or materials furnished 
in the construction, repair or improvement of the same; and, 
provided further, that such liability to seizure and sale shall 
also extend to all real property for any debt incurred to any 
laborer or servant for labor or service performed.] * 

Sec. 13. Private property shall not be taken, destroyed or 
damaged for public use without just compensation therefor, first 
paid or secured.f 

Sec. 14. The military shall be subordinate to the civil power, 
and no standing army shall be kept up in this State in time of 
peace. 

Sec. 15. All lands within the State are declared to be allo- 
dial, and feudal tenures of every description, with all their 
incidents, are prohibited. Leases and grants of agricultural lands 
for a longer period than twenty-one years, hereafter made, in 
which shall be reserved any rent or service of any kind, shall be 
void. 

Sec. 16. The enumeration of rights in this constitution shall 
not be construed to deny or impair others retained by and 
inherent in the people. The right of every man to worship 
God according to the dictates of his own conscience shall never 
be infringed, nor shall any man be compelled to attend, erect 
or support any place of worship, or to maintain any religious 



(a) 23 Minn. 1; 23 Minn. 411. 

* The clause in brackets was adopted Nov. 6, 1888. 
t The words " destroyed or damaged " inserted by amendment adopted 
Nov. 3, 1896. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 105 

or ecclesiastical ministry, against his consent; nor shall any 
control of or interference with the rights of conscience be per- 
mitted, or any preference be given by law to any religious 
establishment or mode of worship; but the liberty of conscience 
hereby secured shall not be so construed as to excuse acts of 
licentiousness, or justify practices inconsistent with the peace or 
safety of the State, nor shall any money be drawn from the 
treasury for the benefit of any religious societies, or religious 
or theological seminaries. 

Sec. 17. No religious test or amount of property shall ever 
be required as a qualification for any office of public trust 
under the State. No religious test or amount of property shall 
ever be required as a qualification of any voter at any elec- 
tion in this State; nor shall any person be rendered incompetent 
to give evidence in any court of law or equity in consequence of 
his opinion upon the subject of religion. 

ARTICLE II. 

ON NAME AND BOUNDARIES. 

Section 1. This State shall be called and known by the name 
of the State of Minnesota, and shall consist of and have juris- 
diction over the territory embraced in the following boundaries, 
to- wit : Beginning at the point in the center of the main 
channel of the Red River of the North, where the boundary 
line between the United States and British Possessions crosses 
the same; thence up the main channel of said river to that 
of the Bois des Sioux river; thence up the main channel of 
said river to Lake Traverse; thence up the center of said lake 
to the southern extremity thereof; thence in a direct line to the 
head of Big Stone lake; thence through its center to its outlet; 
thence by a due south line to the north line of the State of 
Iowa; thence east along the northern boundary of said State 
to the main channel of the Mississippi river; thence up the 
main channel of said river and following the boundary line of 
the State of Wisconsin until the same intersects the St. Louis 
river; thence down the said river to and through Lake Superior, 
on the boundary line of Wisconsin and Michigan, until it inter- 
sects the dividing line between the L T nited States and British 
Possessions; thence up Pigeon river and following said dividing 
line to the place of beginning. 



106 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

Sec. 2. The State of Minnesota shall have concurrent juris- 
diction on the Mississippi and on all other rivers and waters 
bordering on the said State of Minnesota, so far as the same 
shall form a common boundary to said State, and any other 
state or states now or hereafter to be formed by the same; 
and said rivers and waters, and navigable waters leading into 
the same, shall be common highways and forever free, as well to 
the inhabitants of said State as to other citizens of the United 
States, without any tax, duty, impost, or toll therefor. 

Sec. 3. The propositions contained in the act of Congress en- 
titled, " An act to authorize the people of the Territory of 
Minnesota to form a constitution and state government, pre- 
paratory to their admission into the Union on equal footing 
with the original states," are hereby accepted, ratified and con- 
firmed, and shall remain irrevocable without the consent of the 
United States; and it is hereby ordained that this State shall 
never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil within the 
same, by the United States, or with any regulations Congress 
may find necessary for securing the title to said soil to bona fide 
purchasers thereof; and no tax shall be imposed on lands be- 
longing to the United States and in no case shall non-resident 
proprietors be taxed higher than residents. 

ARTICLE III. 

DISTRIBUTION OF THE POWERS OF GOVERNMENT, 

Section 1. The powers of government shall be divided into 
three distinct departments — legislative, executive, and judicial; 
and no person or persons belonging to or constituting one 
of these departments shall exercise any of the powers properly 
belonging to either of the others, except in the instances ex- 
pressly provided in this constitution. 

ARTICLE IV. 

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section 1. The legislature shall consist of the Senate and 
House of Representatives, which shall meet biennially at the 
seat of government of the State, at such time as shall be pre- 
scribed by law, but no session shall -exceed the term of ninety 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 107 

(90) legislative days; and no new bill shall be introduced 
in either branch, except on the written request of the governor, 
during the last twenty (20) days of such sessions, except the 
attention of the legislature shall be called to some important 
matter of general interest by a special message from the gov- 
ernor. Amendment adopted Nov. 6, 1888. 

Sec. 2. The number of members who compose the Senate and 
House of Representatives shall be prescribed by law, but the 
representatives in the Senate shall never exceed one member 
for every 5,000 inhabitants, and in the House of Represent- 
atives one member for every 2,000 inhabitants. The representa- 
tion in both houses shall be apportioned equally throughout the 
different sections of the State, in proportion to the population 
thereof, exclusive of Indians not taxable under the provisions of 
law. 

Sec. 3. Each house shall be the judge of the election returns 
and eligibility of its own members; a majority of each shall 
constitute a quorum to transact business, but a smaller number 
may adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of 
absent members in such manner and under such penalties as it 
may provide. 

Sec. 4. Each house may determine the rules of its proceed- 
ings, sit upon its own adjournment, punish its members for dis- 
orderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel 
a member; but no member shall be expelled the second time for 
the same offense. 

Sec. 5. The House of Representatives shall elect its presid- 
ing officer and the Senate and House of Representatives shall 
elect such other officers as may be provided by law; they shall 
keep journals of their proceedings, and from time to time publish 
the same, and the yeas and nays, when taken on any question, 
shall be entered on such journals. 

Sec. 6. Neither house shall, during a session of the legis- 
lature, adjourn for more than three days (Sundays excepted), 
nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall 
be assembled, without the consent of the other house. 

Sec. 7. The compensation of senators and representatives shall 
be three dollars per diem during the first session, but may 
afterwards be prescribed by law. But no increase of compen- 
sation shall be prescribed which shall take effect during the 



108 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

period for which the members of the existing House of Repre- 
sentatives may have been elected. 

Sec. 8. The members of each house shall in all cases, ex- 
cept treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged 
from arrest during the session of their respective houses, and 
in going to or returning from the same. For any speech or 
debate in either house they shall not be questioned in any 
other place. 

Sec. 9. No senator or representative shall, during the time 
for which he is elected, hold any office under the authority of 
the United States or the State of Minnesota, except that of 
postmaster, and no senator or representative shall hold an 
office under the state which has been created or the emoluments 
of which have been increased during the session of the legis- 
lature of which he was a member, until one year after the ex- 
piration of his term of office in the legislature. 

Sec. 10. All bills for raising a revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose and con- 
cur with amendments as on other bills. 

Sec; 11. Every bill which shall have passed the Senate 
and House of Representatives, in conformity to the rules of 
each house and the joint rules of the two houses, shall, before 
it becomes a law, be presented to the governor of the State. 
If he approve, he shall sign and deposit it in the office of 
secretary of state for preservation, and notify the house where 
it originated of the fact. But if not, he shall return it, with his 
objections, to the house in which it shall nave originated; when 
such objections shall be entered at large on the journal of the 
same, and the house shall proceed to reconsider the bill. If, 
after such reconsideration, two-thirds of that house shall agree 
to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, 
to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered; 
and if it be approved by two-thirds of that house it shall be- 
come a law. But in all such cases "the votes of both houses 
shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the 
persons voting for or against the bill shall be entered on the 
journal of each house, respectively. If any bill shall not be 
returned by the governor withjin three days (Sundays ex- 
cepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same 
shall be a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the 
legislature, by adjournment within that time, prevents its re- 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 109 

turn; in which case it shall not be a law. The governor may 
approve, sign and file in the office of the secretary of state, 
within three days after the adjournment of the legislature, any 
act passed during the last three days of the session, and the 
same shall become a law. 

[If any bill presented to the governor contain several items 
of appropriation of money, he may object to one or more of 
such items, while approving of the other portion of the bill. 
In such case he shall append to the bill, at the time of signing 
it, a statement of the items to which he objects, and the appro- 
priation so objected to shall not take effect. If the legislature 
be in session, he shall transmit to the house in which the bill 
originated a copy of such statement, and the items objected to 
shall be separately reconsidered. If, on reconsideration, one or 
more of such items be approved by two-thirds of the members 
elected to each house, the same shall be a part of the law, not- 
withstanding the objections of the governor. All the provi- 
sions of this section, in relation to bills not approved by the 
governor, shall apply to cases in which he shall withhold his 
approval from any item or items contained in a bill appropriat- 
ing money.] * 

Sec. 12. No money shall be appropriated except by bill. Every 
order, resolution or vote requiring the concurrence of the two 
houses (except such as relate to the business or adjournment 
of the same) shall be presented to the governor for his signa- 
ture, and, before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by 
him, or, being returned by him with his objections, shall be 
repassed by two-thirds of the members of the two houses, ac- 
cording to the rules and limitations prescribed in case of a bill. 

Sec. 13. The style of all laws of this State shall be: "Be 
it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota. " No 
law shall be passed unless voted for by a majority of all the 
members elected to each branch of the legislature, and the 
vote entered upon the journal of each house. 

Sec. 14. The House of Representatives shall have the sole 
power of impeachment, through a concurrence of a majority of 
all the members elected to seats therein. All impeachments 
shall be tried by the Senate; and when sitting for that purpose 
the senators shall be upon oath or affirmation to do justice ac- 

* This paragraph in brackets was adopted Nov. 7, 1876. 



110 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

cording to law and evidence. No person shall be convicted with- 
out the concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. 

Sec. 15. The legislature shall have full power to exclude from 
the privilege of electing or being elected any person convicted 
of bribery, perjury, or any other infamous crime. 

Sec. 16. Two or more members of either house shall have 
liberty to dissent and protest against any act or resolution 
which they may think injurious to the public or to any indi- 
vidual, and have the reason of their dissent entered on the 
journal. 

Sec. 17. The governor shall issue writs of election to fill such 
Vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislature. The 
legislature shall prescribe by law the manner in which evidence 
in cases of contested seats in either house shall be taken. 

Sec. 18. Each house may punish by imprisonment, during its 
session, any person, not a member, who shall be guilty of any 
disorderly or contemptuous behavior in their presence, but no 
such imprisonment shall at any time exceed twenty-four hours. 

Sec. 19. Each house shall be open to the public during the 
sessions thereof, except in such cases as in their opinion may re- 
quire secrecy. 

Sec. 20. Every bill shall be read on three different days in 
each separate house, unless, in case of urgency, two-thirds of 
the house where such bill is depending shall deem it expedient 
to dispense with this rule; and no bill shall be passed by either 
house until it shall have been previously read twice at length. 

Sec. 21. Every bill having passed both houses shall be care- 
fully enrolled, and shall be signed by the presiding officer of 
each house. Any presiding officer refusing to sign a bill which 
shall have previously passed both houses shall thereafter be 
incapable of holding a seat in either branch of the legislature, 
or hold any other office of honor or profit in the State, and in 
case of such refusal, each house shall, by rule, provide the 
manner in which such bill shall be properly certified for presenta- 
tion to the governor. 

Sec. 22. No bill shall be passed by either house of the legisla- 
ture upon the day prescribed for the adjournment of the two 
houses. But this section shall not be so construed as to pre- 
clude the enrollment of a bill, or the signature and passage 
from one house to the other, or the reports thereon from 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. Ill 

committees, or its transmission to the executive for his signa- 
ture. 

Sec. 23. The legislature shall provide by law for an enu- 
meration of the inhabitants of this State in the year one thou- 
sand eight hundred and sixty-five, and every tenth year there- 
after. At their first session after each enumeration so made, 
and also at their first session after each enumeration made by 
the authority of the United States, the legislature shall have 
the power to prescribe the bounds of congressional, senatorial 
and representative districts, and to apportion anew the senators 
and representatives among the several districts according to the 
provisions of section second of this article. 

Sec. 24. The senators shall also be chosen by single districts 
of convenient, contiguous territory, at the same time that mem- 
bers of the house of representatives are required to be chosen, 
and in the same manner; and no representative district shall 
be divided in the formation of a senate district. The senate 
districts shall be numbered in a regular series. The terms of 
office of senators and representatives shall be the same as now 
prescribed by law until the general election of the year one 
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight (1878), at which time 
there shall be an entire new election of all the senators and rep- 
resentatives. Representatives chosen at such election, or at any 
election thereafter, shall hold their office for the term of two 
years, except it be to fill a vacancy; and the senators chosen at 
such election by districts designated as odd numbers shall go out 
of office at the expiration of the second year, and senators chosen 
by districts designated by even numbers shall go out of office at 
the expiration of the fourth year; and thereafter senators shall 
be chosen for four years, except there shall be an entire new 
election of all the senators at the election of representatives next 
succeeding each new apportionment provided for in this article. 

Sec. 25. Senators and representatives shall be qualified voters 
of the State, and shall have resided one year in the State and 
six months immediately preceding the election in the district from 
which they are elected. 

Sec. 26. Members of the Senate of the United States from this 
State shall be elected by the two houses of the legislature in 
joint convention, at such time and in such manner as may be 
provided by law. 



112 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

Sec. 27. No law shall embrace more than one subject, which 
shall be expressed in its title. 

Sec. 28. Divorces shall not be granted by the legislature. 

Sec. 29. All members and officers of both branches of the 
legislature shall, before entering upon the duties of their re- 
spective trusts, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation to sup- 
port the Constitution of . the United States, the Constitution 
of the State of Minnesota, and faithfully and impartially to 
discharge the duties devolving upon him as such member or 
officer. 

Sec. 30. In all elections to be made by the legislature, the 
members thereof shall vote viva voce, and their votes shall be 
entered on the journal. 

Sec. 31. The legislature shall never authorize any lottery or 
the sale of lottery tickets. 

Sec. 32. Any law providing for the repeal or amendment of 
any law or laws heretofore or hereafter enacted, which pro- 
vides that any railroad company now existing in this State 
or operating its road therein, or which may be hereafter or- 
ganized, shall, in lieu of all other taxes and assessments upon 
their real estate, roads, rolling stock, and other personal prop- 
erty, at and during the time and periods therein specified, pay 
into the treasury of this State a certain percentage therein 
mentioned of the gross earnings of such railroad companies now 
existing or hereafter organized, shall, before the same shall 
take effect or be in force, be submitted to a vote of the people 
of the State, and be adopted and ratified by a majority of the 
electors of the State voting at the election at which the same 
shall be submitted to them.* 

Sec. 32. All lands donated to the State of Minnesota for 
the purpose of internal improvement, under the eighth sec- 
tion of the act of Congress, approved September fourth, eighteen 
hundred and forty-one, being " An act to appropriate the pro- 
ceeds of the sale of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption 
rights," shall be appraised and sold, in the same manner and 
by the same officers, and the minimum price shall be the same 
as is provided by law for the appraisement and sale of the school 
lands, under the provisions of title one (1), chapter thirty-eight, 
of the General Statutes, except the modifications hereinafter men- 

* This section was adopted Nov. 8, 1871. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 113 

tioned. All moneys derived from the sales of said lands shall be 
invested in the bonds of the United States, or of the State of 
Minnesota issued since I860; and the moneys so invested shall 
constitute the Internal Improvement Land Fund of the State. All 
moneys received by the county treasurer under the provisions of 
title one (1), chapter thirty-eight (38), aforesaid, derived from 
the sale of internal improvement lands, shall be held at all times 
subject to the order and direction of the state treasurer, for the 
benefit of the fund to which it belongs; and on the fifteenth day 
of June in each year, and at such other times as he may be 
requested so to do by the state treasurer, he shall pay over to 
the said state treasurer all moneys received on account of such 
fund. 

The bonds purchased in accordance with this amendment shall 
be transferable only upon the order of the governor, and on 
each bond shall be written " Minnesota Internal Improvement 
Land Fund of the State, transferable only on the order of the 
governor." 

The principal sum from all sales of internal improvement 
lands shall not be reduced by any charges or costs of officers, 
by fees, or by any other means whatever; and section fifty (50), 
of title one (1), of chapter thirty-eight (38), of the General 
Statutes, shall not be applicable to the provisions of this 
amendment, and wherever the words " school lands " are used 
in said title, it shall read as applicable to this amendment, " In- 
ternal Improvement Lands." 

The moneys belonging to the Internal Improvement Land 
Fund shall not be appropriated for any purpose whatever until 
the enactment for that purpose shall have been approved by a 
majority of the electors of the State voting at the annual gen- 
eral election following the passage of the act. 

The force of this amendment shall be to authorize the sale 
of the internal improvement lands, without further legislative 
enactment.* 

Sec. 33. In all cases when a general law can be made ap- 
plicable, no special law shall be enacted; and whether a gen- 
eral law could have been made applicable in any case is hereby 
declared a judicial question, and as such shall be judicially 
determined without regard to any legislative assertion on that 

* This section was adopted Nov. 5, 1872. 



114 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

subject. The legislature shall pass no local or special law 
regulating the affairs of, or incorporating, erecting or chang- 
ing the lines of, any county, city, village, township, ward or 
school district, or creating the offices, or prescribing the powers 
and duties of the officers of, or fixing or relating to the 
compensation, salary or fees of the same, or the mode of elec- 
tion or appointment thereto, authorizing the laying out, opening, 
altering, vacating or maintaining roads, highways, streets or 
alleys; remitting fines, penalties or forfeitures; regulating the 
powers, duties and practice of justices of the peace, magistrates 
and constables; changing the names of persons, places, lakes or 
rivers; for opening and conducting of elections, or fixing or 
changing the places of voting; authorizing the adoption or 
legitimation of children; changing the law of descent or suc- 
cession; conferring rights upon minors; declaring any named 
person of age; giving effect to informal or invalid wills or deeds, 
or affecting the estates of minors or persons under disability; 
locating or changing county seats; regulating the management 
of public schools, the building or repairing of school houses, and 
the raising of money for such purposes; exempting property 
from taxation, or regulating the rate of interest on money; 
creating corporations, or amending, renewing, extending or ex- 
plaining the charters thereof; granting to any corporation, asso- 
ciation or individual any special or exclusive privilege, im- 
munity or franchise whatever, or authorizing public taxation for 
a private purpose. Provided, however, That the inhibitions of lo- 
cal or special laws in this section shall not be construed to pre- 
vent the passage of general laws on any of the subjects enu- 
merated. 

The legislature may repeal any existing special or local law, 
but shall not amend, extend or modify any of the same.* 

Sec. 34. The legislature shall provide general laws for the 
transaction of any business that may be prohibited by sec- 
tion one (1) of this amendment, and all such laws shall be 
uniform in their operation throughout the State.f 

Sec. 35. Any combination of persons, either as individuals 
or as members or officers of any corporation, to monopolize the 
markets for food products in this State, or to interfere with, 



* Adopted Nov. 8, 1892. 
t Adopted Nov. 8, 1881. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 115 

or restrict the freedom of such markets, is hereby declared 
to be a criminal conspiracy, and shall be punished in such man- 
ner as the legislature may provide. § 

Sec. 36. Any city or village in this State may frame a 
charter for its own government as a city consistent with and 
subject to the laws of this State, as follows: The legislature 
shall provide, under such restrictions as it deems proper, for a 
board of fifteen freeholders, who shall be and for the past five 
years shall have been qualified voters thereof, to be appointed 
by the district judges of the judicial district in which the city 
or village is situated, as the legislature may determine, for a 
term in no event to exceed six years, which board shall, within 
six months after its appointment, return to the chief magistrate 
of said city or village a draft of said charter, signed by the 
members of said board, or a majority thereof. Such charter 
shall be submitted to the qualified voters of such city or vil- 
lage at the next election thereafter, and if four-sevenths of the 
qualified voters voting at such election shall ratify the same it 
shall, at the end of thirty days thereafter, become the charter 
of such city or village as a city, and supersede any existing 
charter and amendments thereof; provided, that in cities having 
patrol limits now established, such charter shall require a three- 
fourths majority vote of the qualified voters voting at such elec- 
tion to change the patrol limits now established. 

Before any city shall incorporate under this act the legis- 
lature shall prescribe by law the general limits within which 
such charter shall be framed. Duplicate certificates shall* be 
made setting forth the charter proposed and its ratification, 
which shall be signed by the chief magistrate of said city or 
village and authenticated by its corporate seal. One of said 
certificates shall be deposited in the office of secretary of state, 
and the other, after being recorded in the office of the register 
of deeds for the county in which such city or village lies, shall 
be deposited among the archives of such city or village, and all 
courts shall take judicial notice thereof. Such charter so de- 
posited may be amended by proposal therefor made by a board 
of fifteen commissioners aforesaid, published for at least thirty 
days in three newspapers of general circulation in such city or 
village, and accepted by three-fifths of the qualified voters 

§ Adopted Nov. 6, 1888. 



116 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

of such city or village voting at the next election, and not 
otherwise; but such charter shall always be in harmony with 
and subject to the Constitution and laws of the State of Min- 
nesota. The legislature may prescribe the duties of the com- 
mission relative to submitting amendments of charter to the 
vote of the people and shall provide that upon application of 
five per cent of the legal voters of any such city or village, by 
written petition, such commission shall submit to the vote of 
the people proposed amendments to such charter set forth in said 
petition. The board of freeholders above provided for shall 
be permanent, and all the vacancies by death, disability to per- 
form duties, resignation or removal from the corporate limits, 
or expiration of term of office, shall be filled by appointment in 
the same manner as the original board was created, and said 
board shall always contain its full complement of members. 

It shall be a feature of all such charters that there shall be 
provided, among other things, for a mayor or chief magistrate, 
and a legislative body of either one or two houses; if of tw r o 
houses, at least one of them shall be elected by general vote of 
the electors. 

In submitting any such charter or amendment thereto to the 
qualified voters of such city or village, any alternate section or 
article may be presented for the choice of the voters, and may 
be voted on separately without prejudice to other articles or sec- 
tions of the charter or any amendments thereto. 

The legislature may provide general laws relating to affairs 
of cities, the application of which may be limited to cities of 
over fifty thousand inhabitants, or to cities of fifty and not less 
than twenty thousand inhabitants, or to cities of twenty and 
not less than ten thousand inhabitants, or to cities of ten thou- 
sand inhabitants or less, which shall apply equally to all such 
cities of either class, and which shall be paramount while in 
force to the provisions relating to the same matter included 
in the local charter herein provided for. But no local charter, 
provision or ordinance passed thereunder shall supersede any 
general law of the State defining or punishing crimes or misde- 
meanors.* 

* Section 36 adopted Nov. 1898. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 117 

ARTICLE V. 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Section -. The executive department shall consist of a gov- 
ernor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer 
and attorney general who shall be chosen by the electors of the 
State. 

Sec. 2.§ The returns of every election for the officers named 
in the foregoing section shall be made to the secretary of 
state, who shall call to his assistance two or more of the 
judges of the supreme court, and two disinterested judges of 
the district courts of the State, who shall constitute a board 
of canvassers, who shall open and canvass said returns and de- 
clare the result within three days after such canvass. 

Sec. 3. The term of office for the governor and lieutenant 
governor shall be two years, and until their successors are chosen 
and qualified. Each shall have attained the age of twenty-five 
(25) years, and shall have been a bona fide resident of the State 
for one year next preceding his election. Both shall be citizens of 
the United States. 

Sec. 4. The governor shall communicate by message to each 
session of the legislature such information touching the state 
and condition of the country as he may deem expedient. He 
shall be commander-in-chief of the military and naval forces, 
and may call out such forces to execute the laws, suppress 
insurrection and repel invasion. He may require the opinion, 
in writing, of the principal officer m each of the executive de- 
partments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their re- 
spective offices ;f and he shall have power, in conjunction with 
the board of pardons, of which the governor shall ba ex officio 
a member, and the other members of which shall consist of the 
attorney general of the State of Minnesota and the chief justice 
of the supreme court of the State of Minnesota, and whose pow- 
ers and duties shall be defined and regulated by law, to grant 
reprieves and pardons after conviction for offenses against the 
State, except in cases of impeachment. He shall have power, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint 

§ As Amended Nov. 6, 1877. 
t Adopted Nov. 3, 1896. 



118 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

a state librarian and notaries public, and such other officers as 
may be provided by law. He shall have power to appoint com- 
missioners to take the acknowledgment of deeds or other in- 
struments in writing, to be used in the State. He shall have 
a negative upon all laws passed by the legislature, under such 
rules and limitations as are in this Constitution prescribed. 
He may on extraordinary occasions convene both houses of the 
legislature. He shall take care that the laws be faithfully exe- 
cuted, fill any vacancy that may occur in the office of secretary 
of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, and such other 
state and district offices as may be hereafter created by law, 
until the next annual election, and until their successors are 
chosen and qualified. 

Sec. 5. The official term of the secretary of state, treasurer 
and attorney general shall be two (2) years. The official term 
of the state auditor shall be four (4) years, and each shall 
continue in office until his successor shall have been elected and 
qualified. The further duties and salaries of said executive 
officers shall each be prescribed by law.* 

Sec. 6. The lieutenant governor shall be ex officio president 
of the Senate; and in case a vacancy shall occur, from any 
cause whatever, in the office of governor, he shall be governor 
during such vacancy. The compensation of lieutenant governor 
shall be double the compensation of a state senator. Before 
the close of each session of the Senate they shall elect a presi- 
dent pro tempore, who shall be lieutenant governor in case, a 
vacancy should occur in that office. 

Sec. 7. The term of each of the executive officers named in 
this article shall commence on taking the oath of office on 
or after the first day of May, 1858, and continue until the first 
Monday of January, 1860, except the auditor, who shall con- 
tinue in office till the first Monday of January, 1861, and until 
their successors shall have been duly elected and qualified; and 
the same above mentioned time for qualification and entry upon 
the duties of their respective offices shall extend and apply to 
all other officers elected under the State Constitution, who 'lave 
not already taken the oath of office, and commenced the per- 
formance of their official duties.-)- 



* Adopted Nov. 6, 1883. 

f This section was adopted April 15, 1858. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 119 

Sec. 8. Each officer created by this article shall, before enter- 
ing upon his duties, take an oath or affirmation to support the 
Constitution of the United States and of this State, and faith- 
fully discharge the duties of his office to the best of his judg- 
ment and ability. 

Sec. 9. Laws shall be passed at the first session of the legis- 
lature after the State is admitted into the Union to carry out 
the provisions of this article. 

ARTICLE VI. 

JUDICIARY. 

Section 1. The judicial power of the State shall be vested 
in a supreme court, district courts, courts of probate, justices of 
the peace, and such other courts, inferior to the supreme court, 
as the legislature may from time to time establish by a two- 
thirds vote. 

Sec. 2. The supreme court shall consist of one chief justice 
and two associate justices, but the number of the associate jus- 
tices may be increased to a number not exceeding four, by the 
legislature, by a two-thirds vote, when it shall be deemed neces- 
sary. It shall have original jurisdiction in such remedial cases 
as may be prescribed by law, and appellate jurisdiction in all 
cases, both in law and equity, but there shall be no trial by 
jury in said court, It shall hold one or more terms in each 
year, as the legislature may direct, at the seat of government, 
and the legislature may provide, by a two-thirds vote, that one 
term in each year shall be held in each or any judicial district. 
It shall be the duty of such court to appoint a reporter of its 
decisions. There shall be chosen, by the qualified electors of 
the State, one clerk of the supreme court, who shall hold his 
office for the term of four years, and until his successor is duly 
elected and qualified, and the judges of the supreme court, or 
a majority of them, shall have the power to fill any vacancy in 
the office of clerk of the supreme court until an election can 
be regularly had. 

Sec. 3. The judges of the supreme court shall be elected by 
the electors of the State at large, and their term of office shall 
be six years, and until their successors are elected and qualified. 

[Whenever all or a majority of the judges of the supreme 
court shall, from any cause, be disqualified from sitting in any 



120 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

case in said court, the governor, or, if he shall be interested 
in the result of such case, then the lieutenant governor, shall 
assign judges of the district court of the State, who shall sit 
in such case in place of such disqualified judges, with all the 
powers and duties of judges of the supreme court.] * 

Sec. 4. The State shall be divided by the legislature into 
judicial districts, which shall be composed of contiguous terri- 
tory, be bounded by county lines, and contain a population as 
nearly equal as may be practicable. In each judicial district, one 
or more judges, as the legislature may prescribe, shall be 
elected by the electors thereof, whose term of office shall be six 
years, and each of said judges shall severally have and exer- 
cise the powers of the court, under such limitations as may be 
prescribed by law. Every district judge shall, at the time of 
his election, be a resident of the district for which he shall be 
elected, and shall reside therein during his continuance in office. 
In case any court of common pleas heretofore established shall 
be abolished, the judge of said court may be constituted by 
the legislature one of the judges of the district court of the 
district wherein such court has been so established for a 
period not exceeding the unexpired term for which he was 
elected.f 

Sec. 5. The district courts shall have original jurisdiction in 
all civil cases, both in law and equity, where the amount in 
controversy exceeds one hundred dollars, and in all criminal 
cases where the punishment shall exceed three months' im- 
prisonment or a fine of more than one hundred dollars, and 
shall have such appellate jurisdiction as may be prescribed by 
law. The legislature may provide by law that the judge of one 
district may discharge the duties of a judge of any other district 
not his own, when convenience or the public interest may re- 
quire it. 

Sec. 6. The judges of the supreme and district courts shall 
be men learned in the law, and shall receive such compensation 
at stated times as may be prescribed by the legislature; which 
compensation shall not be diminished during their continuance 
in office, but they shall receive no other fee or reward for their 
services. 



* Paragraph in brackets added Nov. 7, 1876. 
t This section was adopted Nov. 5, 1875. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 121 

Sec. 7. There shall be established in each organized county 
in the State a probate court, which shall be a court of record, 
and be held at such time and places as may be prescribed by 
law. It shall be held by one judge, who shall be elected by the 
voters of the county for the term of two years. He shall be a 
resident of such county at the time of his election, and reside 
therein during his continuance in office; and his compensation 
shall be provided by law. He may appoint his own clerk where 
none has been elected; but the legislature may authorize the 
election, by the electors of any county, of one clerk or register 
of probate for such county, whose powers, duties, term of 
office and compensation shall be prescribed by law. A probate 
court shall have jurisdiction over the estates of deceased per- 
sons and persons under guardianship, but no other jurisdiction, 
except as prescribed by this Constitution. 

Sec. 8. The legislature shall provide for the election of a 
sufficient number of justices of the peace in each county, whose 
term of office shall be two years, and whose duties and com- 
pensation shall be prescribed by law. Provided, That no justice 
of the peace shall have jurisdiction of any civil cause where 
the amount in controversy shall exceed one hundred dollars, 
nor in a criminal cause where the punishment shall exceed 
three months' imprisonment, or a fine over one hundred dol- 
lars, nor in any cause involving the title to real estate. 

Sec. 9. All judges other than those provided for in this Con- 
stitution shall be elected by the electors of the judicial district, 
county, or city, for which they shall be created, not for a longer 
term than seven years. 

Sec. 10. In case the office of any judge become vacant be- 
fore the expiration of the regular term for which he was elected, 
the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the governor, un- 
til a successor is elected and qualified. And such successor shall 
be elected at the first annual election that occurs more than 
thirty days after the vacancy shall have happened. 

Sec. 11. The justices of the supreme court and the district 
courts shall hold no office under the United States, nor any 
other office under this State. And all votes for either of them 
for any elective office under this Constitution, except a judicial 
office given by the legislature or the people, during their con- 
tinuance in office, shall be void. 

Sec. 12. The legislature may at any time change the num- 



122 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

ber of judicial districts or their boundaries, when it shall be 
deemed expedient; but no such change shall vacate the office 
of any judge. 

Sec. 13. There shall be elected in each county where a dis- 
trict court shall be held, one clerk of said court, whose qualifi- 
cations, duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law, and 
whose term of office shall be four years. 

Sec. 14. Legal pleadings and proceedings in the courts of this 
State shall be under the direction of the legislature. The style 
of all process shall be, " The State of Minnesota," and all in- 
dictments shall conclude, " against the peace and dignity of the 
State of Minnesota." 

Sec. 15, The legislature may provide for the election of one 
person in each organized county in this State, to be called a 
court commissioner, with judicial power and jurisdiction not ex- 
ceeding the power and jurisdiction of a judge of the district 
court at chambers; or the legislature may, instead of such elec- 
tion, confer such power and jurisdiction upon the judges of pro- 
bate in the State. 

ARTICLE VII. 
ELECTIVE franchise. 

* Section 1. What persons are entitled to vote : 

Every male person of the age of twenty-one (21) years 
or upwards belonging to either of the following classes who 
has resided in this State six (6) months next preceding any 
election shall be entitled to vote at such election in the election 
district of which he shall at the time have been for thirty (30) 
days a resident, for all officers that now are, or hereafter may 
be, elective by the people. 

First — Citizens of the United States who have been such 
for the period of three (3) months next preceding any election. 

Second — Persons of mixed white and Indian blood, who have 
adopted the customs and habits of civilization. 

Third — Persons of Indian blood residing in this State, who 
have adopted the language, customs and habits of civilization, 
after an examination before any district court of the State, in 
such manner as may be provided by law, and shall have been 

* Section 1, adopted Nov. 3, 1896. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 123 

pronounced by said court capable of enjoying the rights of 
citizenship within the State. 

Sec. 2. No person not belonging to one of the classes specified 
in the preceding section; no person who has been convicted 
of treason or any felony, unless restored to civil rights; and no 
person under guardianship, or who may be non compos mentis 
or insane, shall be entitled or permitted to vote at any election in 
this State. 

Sec. 3. For the purpose of voting, no person shall be deemed 
to have lost a residence by reason of his absence while em- 
ployed in the service of the United States; nor while engaged 
upon the waters of this State or of the United States; nor while 
a student in any seminary of learning; nor while kept at any 
almshouse or asylum; nor while confined in any public prison. 

Sec. 4. No soldier, seaman or marine in the army or navy of 
the United States shall be deemed a resident of this State in 
consequence of being stationed within the same. 

Sec. 5. During the day on which any election shall be held, 
no person shall be arrested by virtue of any civil process. 

Sec. 6. All elections shall be by ballot, except for such town 
officers as may be directed by law to be otherwise chosen. 

Sec. 7. Every person who by the provisions of this article 
shall be entitled to vote at any election shall be eligible to any 
office which now is, or hereafter shall be, elective by the people 
in the district wherein he shall have resided thirty days previous 
to such election, except as otherwise provided in this Consti- 
tution, or the Constitution and laws of the United States. 

Sec. 8.* Women may vote for school officers and members 
of library boards, and shall be eligible to hold any office pertain- 
ing to the management of schools or libraries. 

Any woman of the age of twenty-one (21) years and up- 
ward and possessing the qualifications requisite to a male voter 
may vote at any election held for the purpose of choosing any 
officer of schools or any members of library boards, or upon 
any measure relating to schools or libraries, and shall be eligi- 
ble to hold any office pertaining to the management of schools 
and libraries, (a) 



* Adopted Nov. 8, 1898. 

(a) The right to vote on district school matters was granted by 
chapter 71, General Laws of 1878; and the right to vote for county school 
superintendents was granted by chapter 204, General Laws of 1885. 



124 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

Sec. 9. The official year for the State of Minnesota shall 
commence on the first Monday in January in each year, and all 
terms of office shall terminate at that time; and the general 
election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Mon- 
day in November. The first general election for State and 
county officers, except judicial officers, after the adoption of 
this amendment, shall be held in the year A. D. one thousand 
eight hundred and eighty- four (1884), and thereafter the gen- 
eral election shall be held biennially. All state, county or 
other officers elected at any general election, whose terms of 
office would otherwise expire on the first Monday of January, 
A. D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six (1886), shall 
hold and continue in such offices, respectively, until the first 
Monday in January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty- 
seven (1887)-f 

ARTICLE VIII. 

SCHOOL FUNDS, EDUCATION AND SCIENCE. 

Section 1. The stability of a republican form of government 
depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall 
be the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform 
system of public schools. 

Sec. 2. The proceeds of such lands as are or hereafter may 
be granted by the United States for the use of schools within 
each township of this State shall remain a perpetual school fund 
to the State; and not more than one-third (y 3 ) of said lands 
may be sold in two (2) years, one-third (y 3 ) in five (5) years, 
and one-third (y 3 ) in ten (10) years; but the lands of the great 
est valuation shall be sold first; provided, that no portion of 
said lands shall be sold otherwise than at public sale. The 
principal of all funds arising from sales or other disposition of 
lands or other property, granted or entrusted to this State in 
each township for educational purposes, shall forever be pre- 
served inviolate and undiminished; and the income arising from 
the lease or sale of said school land shall be distributed to the 
different townships throughout the State, in proportion to the 
number of scholars in each township, between the ages of five 
and twenty-one years; and shall be faithfully applied to the 
specific objects of the original grants or appropriations. 

t Adopted Nov. 6, 1883. 






CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 125 

[Suitable laws shall be enacted by the legislature for the 
safe investment of the principal of all funds which have hereto- 
fore arisen or which may hereafter arise from the sale or other 
disposition of such lands, or the income from such lands accru- 
ing in any way before the sale or disposition thereof, in inter- 
est-bearing bonds of the United States, or of the State of 
Minnesota, issued after the year one thousand eight hundred 
and sixty (1860), or of such other state as the legislature may, 
by law, from time to time direct.] * (6) 

All swamp lands now held by the State, or that may here- 
after accrue to the State, shall be appraised and sold in the 
same manner and by the same officers, and the minimum price 
shall be the same less one-third ( y 3 ) , as is provided by law for 
the appraisement and sale of the school lands under the pro- 
visions of title one (1) of chapter thirty-eight (38) of the Gen- 
eral Statutes. The principal of all funds derived from sales 
of swamp lands, as aforesaid, shall forever be preserved invio- 
late and undiminished. One-half (y 2 ) of the proceeds of said 
principal shall be appropriated to the common school fund of 
the State. The remaining one-half (y 3 ) shall be appropriated 
to the educational and charitable institutions of the State in the 
relative ratio of cost to support said institutions.! 

Sec. 3. The legislature shall make such provisions, by taxa- 
tion or otherwise, as, with the income arising from the school 
fund, will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools 
in each township in the State. 

[But in no case shall the moneys derived as aforesaid, or 
any portion thereof, or any public moneys or property, be 
appropriated or used for the support of schools wherein the 
distinctive doctrines, creeds or tenets of any particular Chris- 
tian or other religious sect are promulgated or taught.] t 

Sec. 4. The location of the University of Minnesota, as es- 
tablished by existing laws, is hereby confirmed, and said in- 
stitution is hereby declared to be the University of the State 
of Minnesota. All the rights, immunities, franchises and en- 
dowments heretofore granted or conferred are hereby perpetuated 
unto the said university; and all lands which may be granted 

* Paragraph in brackets adopted Nov. 5, 1875. 

(b) Ch. 102, G. L. of 1885. 

t Adopted Nov. 8, 1881. 

t Paragraph in brackets adopted Nov. 6, 1877. 



126 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

hereafter by Congress, or other donations for said university 
purposes, shall vest in the institution referred to in this section. 
Sec. 5. 1 1 The permanent school funds of the State may be 
loaned upon interest at the rate of five (5) per cent per annum 
to the several counties or school districts of the State, to be 
used in the erection of county or school buildings. No such 
loan shall be made until approved by a board consisting of the 
governor, the state auditor and the state treasurer, who are 
hereby constituted an investment board for the purpose of the 
loans hereby authorized; nor shall any such loan be for an 
amount exceeding three (3) per cent of the last preceding 
assessed valuation of the real estate of the county or school 
district receiving the same. The state auditor shall annually, 
at the time of certifying the state tax to the several county 
auditors, also certify to each auditor to whose county, or to 
any of the school districts of whose county, any such loan shall 
have been made, the tax necessary to be levied to meet the 
accruing interest or principal of any such loan, and it shall 
be the duty of every such county auditor forthwith to levy and 
extend such tax upon all the taxable property of his county, 
or of the several school districts, respectively, liable for such 
loans — • as the case may be — and in all such cases the tax so 
assessed shall be fifty (50) per cent in excess of the amount 
actually necessary to be raised on account of such accruing prin- 
cipal or interest. It shall be levied, collected and paid into the 
county and state treasuries in the same manner as state taxes, 
and any excess collected over the amount of such principal or 
interest accruing in any given year shall be credited to the gen- 
eral funds of the respective counties or school districts. No 
change of the boundaries of any school district after the mak- 
ing of any such loan shall operate to withdraw any property 
from the taxation herein provided for; nor shall any law be 
passed extending the time of payment of any such principal or 
interest, or reducing the rate of such interest, or in any man- 
ner waiving or impairing any rights of the State in connection 
with any such loan. Suitable laws, not inconsistent with this 
amendment, may be passed by the legislature for the purpose 
of carrying the same into effect, (a) 

j | Adopted Nov. 2, 1886. 

(a) Chapter 193, G. L. of 1887, made the necessary provision for giv 
ing effect to this section. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 127 

Sec. 6. The permanent school and university fund of this 
state may be invested in the bonds of any county, school dis- 
trict, city, town or village of this state, but no such invest- 
ment shall be made until approved by the board of commis- 
sioners designated by law to regulate the investment of the 
permanent school fund and the permanent university fund of 
this state; nor shall such loan or investment be made when 
the bonds to be issued or purchased would make the entire 
bonded indebtedness exceed fifteen (15) per cent of the as- 
sessed valuation of the taxable real property of the county, 
school district, city, town or village issuing such bonds; nor shall 
such loans or indebtedness be made at a lower rate of in- 
terest than three (3) per cent per annum, nor for a shorter 
period than ^.\e (5) years, nor for a longer period than twenty 
(20) years, and rio change of the town, school district, city, 
village, or of county lines shall relieve the real property in such 
town, school district, county, village or city in this state at the 
time of the issuing of such bonds from any liability for taxa- 
tion to pay such bonds.* 

ARTICLE IX. 

FINANCES OF THE STATE, AND BANKS AND BANKING. 

Section 1. All taxes to be raised in this State shall be as 
nearly equal as may be, and all property on which taxes are to 
be levied shall have a cash valuation and be equalized and uni- 
form throughout the State; provided, that the legislature may, 
by general law or special act, authorize municipal corporations 
to levy assessments for local improvements upon the property 
fronting upon such improvements, or upon the property to be 
benefited by such improvements, or both*, without regard to a 
cash valuation, and in such manner as the legislature may pre- 
scribe. And, provided farther, that for the purpose of defraying 
the expenses of laying water pipes and supplying any city or 
municipality with water, the legislature may, by general or spe- 
cial law, authorize any such city or municipality, having a popu- 
lation of five thousand (5,000) or more, to levy an annual tax 
or assessment upon the lineal foot of all lands fronting on any 
water main or water pipe laid by such city or municipality 



► Adopted Nov. 8, 3 904. 



128 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

within corporate limits of said city for supplying water to the 
citizens thereof without regard to the cash value of such prop- 
erty, and to empower such city to collect any such tax, assess- 
ments or fines, or penalties for failure to pay the same, or any 
fine or penalty for any violation of the rules of such city or 
municipality in regard to the use of water, or for any water 
rate due for the same.* And, provided further, that there may 
be by law levied and collected a tax upon all inheritances, de- 
vises, bequests, legacies and gifts of every kind and description 
above a fixed and specified sum, of any and all natural persons 
and corporations. Such a tax above such exempted sum may be 
uniform, or it may be graded or progressive, but shall not ex- 
ceed a maximum tax of five per cent.f 

Sec. 2. The legislature shall provide for an annual tax suffi- 
cient to defray the estimated ordinary expenses of the State 
for each year; and whenever it shall happen that such ordinary 
expenses of the State for any year shall exceed the income 
of the State for such year, the legislature shall provide for 
levying a tax for the ensuing year, sufficient with other sources 
of income to pay the deficiency of the preceding year, together 
with the estimated expenses of such ensuing year. [But no 
law levying a tax, or making other provisions for the payment 
of interest or principal of the bonds denominated " Minnesota 
State Railroad Bonds," shall take effect or be in force until such 
law shall have been submitted to a vote of the people of the 
State, and adopted by a majority of the electors of the State 
voting upon the same.] $ 

Sec. 3. Law T s shall be passed taxing all moneys, credits, in- 
vestments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or other- 
wise, and also all real and personal property, according to its 
true value in money; but public burying grounds, public school 
houses, public hospitals, academies, colleges, universities, and 
all seminaries of learning, all churches, church property used 
for religious purposes, and houses of w r orship, institutions of 
purely public charity, public property used exclusively for any 
public purpose, and personal property to an amount not ex- 
ceeding in value two hundred dollars for each individual, shall, 
by general laws, be exempt from taxation. 

♦Adopted Nov. 2, 1869, and Nov. 8, 1881. 

t Adopted Nov. 6, 1894. 

t These amendments were adopted Nov. 6, 1860. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA 129 

Sec. 4. Laws shall be passed for taxing the notes and bills 
discounted or purchased, moneys loaned, and all other property, 
effects of dues of every description, of all banks and all bank- 
ers, so that all property employed in banking shall always be 
subject to a taxation equal to that imposed on the property of 
individuals. 

Sec. 5.* For the purpose of defraying extraordinary expendi- 
tures, the State may contract public debts, but such debts 
shall never, in the aggregate, exceed $250,000; every such debt 
shall be authorized by law, for some single object, to be dis- 
tinctly specified therein; and no such law shall take effect until 
it shall have been passed by the vote of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers of each branch of the legislature, to be recorded by yeas 
and nays on the journals of each house respectively; and every 
such law shall levy a tax annually sufficient to pay the annual 
interest of such debt, and also a tax sufficient to pay the princi- 
pal of such debt within ten years from the final passage of such 
law, and shall specially appropriate the proceeds of such taxes 
to the payment of such principal and interest; and such appro- 
priation and taxes shall not be repealed, postponed or dimin- 
ished, until the principal and interest of such debt shall have 
been wholly paid. The State shall never contract any ' debts 
for works of internal improvements, or be a party in carrying 
on such works, except in cases where grants of land or other 
property shall have been made to the State, especially dedicated 
by the grant to specific purposes, and in such case the State 
snail devote thereto the avails of such grants, and may pledge 
or appropriate the revenues derived from such works in aid of 
their completion. 

Sec. 6. All debts authorized by the preceding section shall be 
contracted by loan on State bonds of amounts not less than 
five hundred dollars each on interest, payable within ten years 
after the final passage of the law authorizing such debt; and 
such bonds shall not be sold by the State under par. A correct 
registry of all such bonds shall be kept by the treasurer, in 
numerical order, so as always to exhibit the number and amount 
unpaid, and to whom severally made payable. 

Sec. 7. The State shall never contract any public debt, unless 
in time of war, to repel invasion or suppress insurrection, except 



Amended April 14, 1858. 



130 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

in the cases and in the manner provided in the fifth and sixth 
sections of this article. 

Sec. 8. The money arising from any loan made, or debt or 
liability contracted, shall be applied to the object specified in 
the act authorizing such debt or liability, or to the repayment 
of such debt or liability, and to no other purpose whatever. 

Sec. 9. No money shall ever be paid out of the treasury of 
this State except in pursuance of an appropriation by law. 

Sec. 10. The credit of the State shall never be given or loaned 
in aid of any individual, association or corporation. [Nor shall 
there be any further issue of bonds denominated " Minnesota 
State Railroad Bonds," under what purports to be an amend- 
ment to section ten (10) of article nine (9) of the Constitution, 
adopted April fifteenth, eighteen hundred and fifty eight, which 
is hereby expunged from the Constitution, saving, excepting and 
reserving to the State, nevertheless, all rights, remedies, and 
forfeitures accruing under said amendment.] * 

Sec. 11. There shall be published by the treasurer, in at least 
one newspaper printed at the seat of government, during the first 
week in January in each year, and in the next volume of the 
acts of legislature, detailed statements of all moneys drawn 
from the treasury during the preceding year, for what purpose 
and to whom paid, and by what law authorized; and also of all 
moneys received, and by what authority and from whom. 

Sec. 12.-J* Suitable laws shall be passed by the legislature for 
the safe-keeping, transfer and disbursements of the state and 
school funds; and all officers and other persons charged with 
the same or any part of the same, or the safe keeping thereof, 
shall be required to give ample security for all moneys and 
funds of any kind received by them; to make forthwith and 
keep an accurate entry of each sum received, and of each pay- 
ment and transfer; and if any of said officers or other persons 
shall convert to his own use in any manner or form, or shall 
loan, with or without interest, or shall deposit in his own name, 
or otherwise than in the name of the State of Minnesota; or 
shall deposit in banks or with any person or persons, or ex- 
change for other funds or property, any portion of the funds 
of the State or of the school funds aforesaid, except in the man- 



* The clause in brackets was adopted Nov. 6, 1860. 
t Adopted Nov. 4, 1873. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 131 

ner prescribed by law, every such act shall be and constitute 
an embezzlement of so much of the aforesaid State and school 
funds, or either of the same, as shall thus be taken, or loaned, 
or deposited or exchanged, and shall be a felony; and any fail- 
ure to pay over, produce or account for the State school funds, 
or any part of the same entrusted to such officer or persons 
as by law required on demand, shall be held and be taken to be 
prima facie evidence of such embezzlement. 

Sec. 13. The legislature may, by a two-thirds vote, pass a 
general banking law, with the following restrictions and re- 
quirements, viz: 

First — The legislature shall have no power to pass any law 
sanctioning in any manner, directly or indirectly, the suspen- 
sion of specie payments by any person, association or corpora- 
tion issuing bank notes of any description. 

Second — The legislature shall provide by law for the registry 
of all bills or notes issued or put in circulation as money, and 
shall require ample security in United States stock or State 
stocks for the redemption of the same in specie; and in case of 
a depreciation of said stocks, or any part thereof, to the amount 
of ten per cent or more on the dollar, the bank or banks own- 
ing said stocks shall be required to make up said deficiency by 
additional stocks. 

Third — The stockholders in any corporation and joint asso- 
ciation for banking purposes, issuing bank notes, shall be indi- 
vidually liable in an amount equal to double the amount of 
stock owned by them for all the debts of such corporation or 
association; and such individual liability shall continue for one 
year after any transfer or sale of stock by any stockholder or 
stockholders. 

Fourth — In case of the insolvency of any bank or banking 
association, the bill holders thereof shall be entitled to prefer- 
ence in payment over all other creditors of such bank or asso- 
ciation. 

Fifth — Any general banking law which may be passed in 
accordance with this article shall provide for recording the 
names of all stockholders in such corporation, the amount of 
stock held by each, the time of transfer, and to whom trans- 
ferred. 

Sec. 14. (a) * For the purpose of erecting and completing 

* Sections 14a and lib were adopted Nov. 5, 1872. 



132 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

buildings for a hospital for the insane, a deaf, dumb and blind 
asylum, the state prison, the legislature may by law increase the 
public debt of the State to an amount not exceeding $250,000, 
in addition to the public debt already heretofore authorized by 
the Constitution; and for that purpose may provide by law for 
issuing and negotiating the bonds of the State, and appropriate 
the money only for the purpose aforesaid; which bonds shall be 
payable in not less than ten nor more than thirty years from 
the date of the same, at the option of the State. 

Sec. 14, (6) The legislature shall not authorize any county, 
township, city, or other municipal corporation to issue bonds 
or to become indebted in any manner to aid in the construction 
or equipment of any or all railroads to any amount that shall 
exceed ten per centum of the value of the taxable property 
within such county, township, city, or other municipal corpora- 
tion; the amount of such taxable property to be ascertained and 
determined by the last assessment of said property made for the 
purpose of state and county taxation previous to the incurring 
of such indebtedness, Nov. 5, 1872. 

Sec. 15.* The legislature shall not authorize any county, town- 
ship, city, or other municipal corporation to issue bonds, or 
to become indebted in any manner, to aid in the construction 
or equipment of any or all railroads to any amount that shall 
exceed five (5) per centum of the value of the taxable property 
within such county, township, city, or other municipal corporation. 
The amount of such taxable property to be ascertained and de- 
termined by the last assessment of said property made, for the 
purpose of state and county taxation, previous to the incurring of 
such indebtedness. 

Sec. 16.* * For the purpose of lending aid in the construc- 
tion and improvement of public highways and bridges, there is 
hereby created a fund to be known as the " State Road and 
Bridge Fund." Said fund shall include all moneys accruing 
from the income derived from investments in the internal im- 
provement land fund, or that may hereafter accrue to said fund, 
and shall also include all funds accruing to any state road and 
bridge fund, however provided. 

The legislature is authorized to add to such fund for the 



Sec. 15 was adopted Nov. 4, 1879. 
* Sec. 16 was adopted Nov. 8, 1898. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 133 

purpose of constructing or improving roads and bridges of 
this State, by providing, in its discretion, for an annual tax levy 
upon the property of this State of not to exceed in any year 
one- twentieth (1-20) of one (1) mill on all the taxable property 
within the State. 

The legislature is also authorized to provide for the appoint- 
ment, by the governor of the State, of a board to be known as 
the "State Highway Commission," consisting of three (3) mem- 
bers, who shall perform such duties as shall be prescribed by 
law without salary or compensation other thnn personal -ex- 
penses. 

Such commission shall have general superintendence of the 
construction of State roads and bridges and shall use such fund 
in the construction thereof and distribute the same in the sev- 
eral counties in the State upon an equitable basis. Provided 
further, that no county shall receive in any year more than three 
( 3 ) per cent or less than one-half ( y 2 ) of one ( 1 ) per cent of 
the total fund thus provided and expended during such year; 
and, provided further, that no more than one-third (y 3 ) of such 
fund accruing in any year shall be expended for bridges, and in 
no case shall more than one-third (y 3 ) of the cost of construct- 
ing or improving any road or bridge be paid by the State from 
such fund. 

Sec. 17.f The legislature may impose, or provide for the im- 
position of, upon the property within this state of any and 
all owners or operators, whether corporate or individual, or 
otherwise, of any and all sleeping, parlor and drawing room 
cars, or any or either of the same, which run in, into or 
through this State; also upon the property within this State of 
any and all telegraph and telephone companies, or owners, 
whose lines are in, or extend in, into or through this State; 
also upon the property within this State of all express com- 
panies, or owners, or any or either of the same, doing business 
in this State; also upon the property within this State of all 
domestic insurance companies of this State of any kind; also 
upon the property within this State of all owners or operators 
of any and all mines or of mineral ores situated in this State; 
also upon the property within this State of all boom companies 
or owners, and of all ship builders or owners doing business 

t Sec. 17 was adopted Nov. 3, 1896. 



134 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

in this State or having a port therein; provided, that this act 
shall not apply to property owned by railroad companies, their 
lands and other property; and upon the property of either or 
any of such companies or owners a tax, as uniform as reason- 
ably may be with the taxes imposed upon similar property in 
said State, or upon the earnings thereof within this State, but 
may be graded or progressive, or both, and in providing for 
such tax, or in providing for ascertaining the just and true 
value of such property, it shall be competent for the legislature, 
in either or all of such cases, to impose such tax, upon any or 
all property thereof within this State, and in either case by tak- 
ing as the basis of such imposition the proportionate business, 
earnings, mileage or quantity of production or property now 
or hereafter existing of any such companies, persons or owners, 
transacted or existing in this State, in relation to the entire 
business, mileage or quantity of production or property of 
such companies, persons or owners as aforesaid; or in such 
other manner, or by such other method, as the legislature may 
determine; but the proceeds of such taxes upon mining prop- 
erty shall be distributed between the State and the various 
political subdivisions thereof wherein the same is situated in the 
same proportion as the proceeds of taxes upon real property 
are distributed; provided further, that nothing in this act con- 
tained shall operate to authorize the assessment or taxation of 
land or ordinary business blocks or property owned by any such 
corporation, person, firm or company, except in the manner 
provided by the ordinary methods of taxation. 

ARTICLE X. 

OF CORPORATIONS HAVING NO BANKING PRIVILEGES. 

Section 1. The term " Corporation," as used in this article, 
shall be construed to include all associations and joint stock 
companies having any of the powers and privileges not pos- 
sessed by individuals or partnerships, except such as embrace 
banking privileges, and all corporations shall have the right to 
sue, and shall be liable to be sued in all courts, in like manner 
as natural persons. 

Sec. 2. No corporations shall be formed under special acts, 
except for municipal purposes. 

feEC. 3. Each stockholder in any corporation [excepting those 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 135 

organized for the purpose of carrying on any kind of manu- 
facturing or mechanical business shall be liable to the amount of 
stock held or owned by him.] f 

Sec. 4. Lands may be taken for public way, for the purpose 
of granting to any corporation the franchise of way for public 
use. In all cases, however, a fair and equitable compensation 
shall be paid for such land, and the damages arising from the 
taking of the same; but all corporations being common carriers, 
enjoying the right of way in pursuance of the provisions of this 
section, shall be bound to carry the mineral, agricultural and 
other productions of manufacturers on equal and reasonable 
terms. 

ARTICLE XL 

COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS. 

Section 1. The legislature may from time ^o time establish 
and organize new counties; but no new county shall contain 
less than four hundred square miles; nor shall any county be 
reduced below that amount; and all laws changing county lines 
in counties already organized, or for removing county seats, shall, 
before taking effect, be submitted to the electors of the county 
or counties to be affected thereby, at the next general election 
after the passage thereof, and be adopted by a majority of such 
electors. Counties now established may be enlarged, but not 
reduced below four hundred (400) square miles. 

Sec. 2. The legislature may organize any city into a sepa- 
rate county, when it has attained a population of 20,000 inhab- 
itants, without reference to geographical extent, when a ma- 
jority of the electors of the county in which such city may be 
situated, voting thereon, shall be in favor of a separate organ- 
ization. 

Sec. 3. Laws may be passed providing for the organization 
for municipal and other town purposes, of any congressional or 
fractional townships in the several counties in the state, provided 
that when a township is divided by county lines or does not con- 
tain one hundred inhabitants, it may be attached to one or 
more adjoining townships or parts of townships for the pur- 
poses aforesaid. 



f The clause in brackets adopted Nov. 5, 1872. 



136 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

Sec. 4. Provision shall be made by law for the election of 
such county or township officers as may be necessary. 

Sec. 5. Any county and township organization shall have 
such powers of local taxation as may be prescribed by law. 

Sec. 6. No money shall be drawn from any county or town- 
ship treasury except by authority of law. 

Sec. 7. 4 That the county of Manomin is hereby abolished, 
and that the territory heretofore comprising the same shall con- 
stitute and be a part of the county of Anoka. 

ARTICLE XII. 

OF THE MILITIA. 

Section 1. It shall be the duty of the legislature to pass 
such laws for the organization, discipline and service of the 
militia of the state as may be deemed necessary. 

ARTICLE XIII. 
impeachment and removal from office. 

Section I. The governor, secretary of state, treasurer, audi- 
tor, attorney general, and the judges of the supreme and district 
courts, may be impeached for corrupt conduct in office, or for 
crimes and misdemeanors; but judgment in such case shall not 
extend further than to removal from office and disqualification 
to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit in this 
state. The party convicted thereof shall nevertheless be liable 
and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, accord- 
ing to law. 

Sec. 2. The legislature of this state may provide for the 
removal of inferior officers from office, for malfeasance or non- 
feasance in the performance of their duties. 

Sec. 3. No officer shall exercise the duties of his office after 
he shall have been impeached and before his acquittal. 

Sec. 4. On the trial of an impeachment against the governor, 
the lieutenant governor shall not act as a member of the court. 

Sec. 5. No person shall be tried on impeachment before ba 
shall have been served with a copy thereof at least twenty days 
previous to the day set for trial. 

* Adopted Nov. 2, 1869. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 137 

ARTICLE XIV. 

AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION. 

Section 1. * Whenever a majority of both houses of the legis- 
lature shall deem it necessary to alter or amend this Constitu- 
tion, they may propose such alterations or amendments, which 
proposed amendments shall be published with the laws which 
have been passed at the same session, and said amendments shall 
be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at any 
general election, and if it shall appear, in a manner to be pro- 
vided by law, that a majority of all the electors voting at said 
election shall have voted for and ratified such alterations or 
amendments, the same shall be valid to all intents and purposes 
as a part of this Constitution. If two or more alterations or 
amendments shall be submitted at the same time, it shall be so 
regulated that the voters shall vote for or against each separately. 

Sec. 2. Whenever two-thirds of the members elected to each 
branch of the legislature shall think it necessary to call a con- 
vention to revise this Constitution, they shall recommend to the 
electors to vote at the next general election for members of 
the legislature, for or against a convention; and if a majority 
of all the electors voting at said election shall have voted for a 
convention, the legislature shall, at their next session, provide 
by law for calling the same. The convention shall consist of as 
many members as the House of Representatives, who shall be 
chosen in the same manner, and shall meet within three months 
after their election for the purpose aforesaid. 

ARTICLE XV. 

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS. 

Section 1. The seat of government of the state shall be at 
the city of St. Paul, but the legislature, at their first or any 
future session, may provide by law for a change of the seat of 
government by a vote of the people, or may locate the same upon 
the land granted by congress for a seat of government to the 
state; and in the event of the seat of government being removed 
from the city of St. Paul to any other place in the state, the 
capitol building and grounds shall be dedicated to an institu- 

* Adopted Nov. 8, 1898. 



138 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

tion for the promotion of science, literature and the arts, to be 
organized by the legislature of the state, and of which institution 
the Minnesota Historical Society shall always be a department. 

Sec. 2. Persons residing on Indian lands within the state 
shall enjoy all the rights and privileges of citizens, as though 
they lived in any other portion of the state, and shall be subject 
to taxation. 

Sec. 3. The legislature shall provide for a uniform oath or 
affirmation to be administered at elections, and no person shall 
be compelled to take any other or different form of oath to 
entitle him to vote. 

Sec. 4. There shall be a seal of the state, which shall be 
kept by the secretary of state, and be used by him officially, and 
shall be called the great seal of the state of Minnesota, and 
shall be attached to all the official acts of the governor (his 
signature to acts and resolves of the legislature excepted) re- 
quiring authentication. The legislature shall provide for an 
appropriate device and motto for said seal. 

Sec. 5. The territorial prison, as located under existing laws, 
shall, after the adoption of this Constitution, be and remain 
one of the state prisons of the state of Minnesota. 

SCHEDULE. 

Section 1. That no inconvenience may arise by reason of 
a change from a territorial to a permanent state of government, 
it is declared that all rights, actions, prosecutions, judgments, 
claims and contracts, as well of individuals as of bodies cor- 
porate, shall continue as if no change had taken place; and all 
process which may be issued under the authority of the Terri- 
tory of Minnesota previous to its admission into the Union of 
the United States shall be as valid as if issued in the name of 
the state. 

Sec. 2. All laws now in force in the Territory of Minnesota 
not repugnant to this Constitution shall remain in force until 
they expire by their own limitation, or be altered or repealed 
by the legislature. 

Sec. 3. All fines, penalties or forfeitures accruing to the 
Territory of Minnesota shall inure to the state. 

Sec. 4. All recognizances heretofore taken, or which may be 
taken before the change from a territorial to a permanent state 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 139 

government shall remain valid, and shall pass to and may be 
prosecuted in the name of the state ; and all bonds executed to the 
governor of the territory, or to any other officer or court in 
his or their official capacity, shall pass to the governor or state 
authority and their successors in office, for the uses therein re- 
spectively expressed, and may be sued for and recovered accord- 
ingly; and all the estate of property, real, personal or mixed, 
and all judgments, bonds, specialties, choses in action, and claims 
and debts, of whatsoever description, of the territory of Minne- 
sota, shall inure to and vest in the state of Minnesota, and 
may be sued for and recovered in the same manner and to the 
same extent by the state of Minnesota as the same could have 
been by the territory of Minnesota. All criminal prosecutions and 
penal actions which may have arisen, or which may arise before 
the change from a territorial to a state government, and which 
shall then be pending, shall be prosecuted to judgment and execu- 
tion in the name of the state. All offenses committed against 
the laws of the territory of Minnesota, before the change from a 
territorial to a state government, and which shall not be prose- 
cuted before such change, may be prosecuted in the name and 
by the authority of the state of Minnesota with like effect as 
though such change had not taken place, and all penalties in- 
curred shall remain the same as if this Constitution had not 
been adopted. All actions at law and suits in equity which 
may be pending in any of the courts of the territory of Minne- 
sota, at the time of a change from a territorial to a state gov- 
ernment, may be continued and transferred to any court of the 
state which shall have jurisdiction of the subject matter thereof. 

Sec. 5. All territorial officers, civil or military, now holding 
their offices under the authority of the United States, or of 
the territory of Minnesota shall continue to hold and execise their 
respective offices until they shall be superseded by the authority 
of the state. 

Sec. 6. The first session of the legislature of the state of 
Minnesota shall commence on the first Wednesday of December 
next, and shall be held at the capitol, in the city of St. Paul. 

Sec. 7. The laws regulating the election and qualification of 
all district, county and precinct officers shall continue and be in 
force until the legislature shall otherwise provide by law. 

Sec. 8. The president of this convention shall, immediately 
after the adjournment thereof, cause this Constitution to be de- 



140 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

posited in the office of the governor of the territory; and if, 
after the submission of the same to a vote of the people, as 
hereinafter provided, it shall appear that it has been adopted 
by a vote of the people of the state, then the governor shall 
forward a certified copy of the same, together with an abstract of 
the votes polled for and against the said Constitution, to the 
president of the United States, to be by him laid before the 
Congress of the United States. 

Sec. 9. For the purposes of the first election, the state shall 
constitute one district, and shall elect three members to the House 
of Representatives of the United States. 

Sec. 10. For the purposes of the first election for members 
of the State Senate and House of Representatives, the state shall 
be divided into senatorial and representative districts, as fol- 
lows, viz: First district, Washington county; Second district, 
Ramsey county; Third district, Dakota county; Fourth district, 
so much of Hennepin county as lies west of the Mississippi; Fifth 
district, Rice county; Sixth district, Goodhue county; Seventh 
district, Scott county; Eighth district, Olmsted county; Ninth 
district, Fillmore county; Tenth district, Houston county; Elev- 
enth district, Winona county; Twelfth district, Wabasha county; 
Thirteenth district, Mower and Dodge counties; Fourteenth dis- 
trict, Freeborn and Faribault counties; Fifteenth district, Steele 
and Waseca counties; Sixteenth district, Blue Earth and Le Sueur 
counties; Seventeenth district, Nicollet and Brown counties; 
Eighteenth district, Sibley, Renville and McLeod counties; Nine- 
teenth district, Carver and Wright counties; Twentieth district, 
Benton, Stearns and Meeker counties; Twenty-first district, Mor- 
rison, Crow Wing and Mille Lacs counties; Twenty-second dis- 
trict, Cass, Pembina and Todd counties; Twenty- third district, 
so much of Hennepin county as lies east of the Mississippi, Twen- 
ty-fourth district, Sherburne, Anoka and Manomin counties; 
Twenty-fifth district, Chisago, Pine and Isanti counties; Twenty- 
sixth district, Buchanan, Carlton, St. Louis, Lake and Itasca 
counties. 

Sec. 11. The counties of Brown, Stearns, Todd, Cass, Pem- 
bina and Renville, as applied to the preceding section, shall not 
be deemed to include any territory west of the state line, but shall 
be deemed to include all counties and parts of counties east of 
said line as were created out of the territory of either, at the 
last session of the legislature. 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 



141 



Sec. 12. The senators and representatives at the first elec- 
tion shall be apportioned among the several senatorial and rep- 
resentative districts as follows, to wit: 



2d 


3 


6 


3d 


2 


5 


4th 


2 


4 


5th 


2 


3 


6th 


1 


4 


7th 


1 


3 


8th 


2 


4 


9th 


2 


6 


10th 


2 


3 


11th 


2 


4 


12th 


1 


3 


13th 


2 


3 


14th 


l " 


3 


15th 


l " 


. 4 


16th 


l tc 


3 


17th 


u 


3 


18th 


1 


3 


19th 


1 " 


3 


20th 


1 " 


3 


21st 


1 " 


. 1 


22d 


1 


. 1 


23d 


1 tc 


2 


24th 


1 ll 


1 


25th 


1 " 


1 


26th 


1 


1 



37 



80 



Sec. 13. The returns from the Twenty-second district shall 
be made to and canvassed by the judges of election at the pre- 
cinct of Otter Tail City. 

Sec. 14. Until the legislature shall otherwise provide, the 
state shall be divided into judicial districts as follows, viz: 

The counties of Hennepin, Carver, Wright, Meeker, Sherburne, 
Pine, Buchanan, Carlton, St. Louis and Lake shall constitute the 
First judicial district. 



142 CIVIL GOVERNMENT OF MINNESOTA. 

The county of Ramsey shall constitute the Second judicial dis- 
trict. 

The counties of Houston, Winona, Fillmore, Olmsted and 
Wabasha shall constitute the Third judicial district. 

The counties of Hennepin, Carver, Wright, Meeker, Sherburne, 
Benton, Stearns, Morrison, Crow Wing, Mille Lacs, Itasca, Pem- 
bina, Todd and Cass shall constitute the Fourth judicial district. 

The counties of Dakota, Goodhue, Scott, Rice, Steele, Wa- 
seca, Dodge, Mower and Freeborn shall constitute the Fifth 
judicial district. 

The counties of Le Sueur, Sibley, Nicollet, Blue Earth, Fari- 
bault, McLeod, Renville, Brown, and all other counties in the 
state not included within the other districts, shall constitute the 
Sixth judicial district. 

Sec. 15. Each of the foregoing enumerated judicial districts 
may, at the first election, elect one prosecuting attorney for the 
district. 

Sec. 16. Upon the second Tuesday, the thirteenth day of Oc- 
tober, 1857, an election shall be held for members of the House 
of Representatives of the United States, governor, lieutenant 
governor, supreme and district judges, members of the legislature, 
and all other officers designated in this Constitution, and also 
for the submission of this Constitution to the people, for their 
adoption or rejection. 

Sec. 17. Upon the day so designated as aforesaid every free 
white male inhabitant over the age of twenty-one years, who 
shall have resided within the limits of the state for ten days 
previous to the day of said election, may vote for all officers 
to be elected under this Constitution at such election, and also 
for or against the adoption of the Constitution. 

Sec. 18. In voting for or against the adoption of this Con- 
stitution, the words, Cs For Constitution," or " Against Constitu- 
tion," may be written or printed on the ticket of each voter, but 
no voter shall vote for or against this Constitution, on a separate 
ballot from that cast by him for officers to be 'elected at said 
election under this Constitution; and if upon the canvass of 
the vote so polled it shall appear that there was a greater number 
of votes polled for than against said Constitution, then this Con- 
stitution shall be deemed to be adopted as the Constitution of 
the state of Minnesota, and all the provisions and obligations 
of this Constitution, and of the schedule thereunto attached, shall 



CONSTITUTION OF MINNESOTA. 143 

thereafter be valid to all intents and purposes as the Constitu- 
tion of said state. 

Sec. 19. At said election the polls shall be opened, the elec- 
tion held, returns made, and certificates issued, in all respects 
as provided by law for opening, closing and conducting elections 
and making returns of the same, except as hereinbefore specified, 
and excepting also that polls may be opened and elections held 
at any point or points in any of the counties where precincts may 
be established as provided by law, ten days previous to the day 
of election, not less than ten miles from the place of voting in any 
established precinct. 

Sec. 20. It shall be the duty of the judges and clerks of 
election, in addition to the returns required by law for each pre- 
cinct, to forward to the secretary of the territory, by mail, im- 
mediately after the close of the election, a certified copy of the 
poll book containing the name of each person who has voted in 
the precinct and the number of votes polled for and against the 
adoption of this Constitution. 

Sec. 21. The returns of said election for and against this 
Constitution, and for all state officers and members of the House 
of Representatives of the United States, shall be made, and 
certificates issued in the manner now prescribed by law for re- 
turning votes given for delegates to Congress; and the returns 
for all district officers, judicial, legislative or otherwise, shall 
be made to the register of deeds of the senior county in each 
district, in the manner prescribed by law, except as otherwise 
provided. The returns for all officers elected at large shall be 
canvassed by the governor of the Territory, assisted by Joseph 
R. Brown and Thomas J. Galbraith, at the time designated by 
law for canvassing the vote for delegates to Congress. 

Sec. 22. If, upon canvassing the votes for and against the 
adoption of this Constitution, it shall appear that there has been 
polled a greater number of votes against than for it, then no 
certificate of election shall be issued for any state or district 
officer provided for in this Constitution, and no state organiza- 
tion shall have validity within the limits of the territory, until 
otherwise provided for and until a Constitution for a state gov- 
ernment shall have been adopted by the people. 



APPENDIX. 

A. GOVERNORS OF MINNESOTA. 
Territorial. 

Alexander Ramsey 1849-1853 

Willis A. Gorman 1853-1857 

Samuel Medary 1857-1858 

State. 

Henry H. Sibley „ . . 1858-1860 

Alexander Ramsey 1860-1864 

Stephen Miller . 1864-1866 

William R. Marshall 1866-1870 

Horace Austin 1870-1874 

Cushman K. Davis 1874-1876 

John S. Pillsbury 1876-1882 

Lucius F. Hubbard 1882-1887 

Andrew R. McGill 1887-1889 

William R. Merriam . . . . 1889-1892 

Knute Nelson 1892-1895 

David M. Clough 1895-1899 

John Lind 1899-1901 

Samuel R. Van Sant 1901-1905 

John A. Johnson . . . . 1905 



144 



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145 



C. COUNTIES AXD COUNTY SEATS. 



COUNTY 



Aitkin 

Anoka 

Becker ...... 

Benton 

Beltrami .... 
Big Stone. . . . 
Blue Earth . . 

Brown 

Carlton 

Carver 

Cass 

Chippewa . . . 

Chisago 

Clay 

Clearwater . . 

Cook 

Cottonwood . . 
Crow Wing. . . 

Dakota. 

Dodge 

Douglas 

Faribault . . . 
Fillmore .... 
Freeborn .... 

Goodhue 

Grant 

Hennepin .... 

Houston 

Hubbard .... 

Isanti : . 

Itaska 

Jackson 

Kanabec 

Kandiyohi . . . 

Kittson 

Lac Qui Parle 

Lake 

Le Sueur 

Lincoln 

Lyon 

McLeod 

Marshall .... 

Martin 

Meeker 



POPULATION 



9,537 
12.113 
18,490 
11,256 
14,312 

9,474 
31,228 
20.523 
15,287 
17,713 
11.012 
13,356 
14,341 
19,457 

6,239 

1,462 
12,576 
16,731 
23,471 
12,757 
18.780 
20.448 
27,216 
22,435 
31.628 

9,652 

292,806 

15.092 

9.008 
12.941 
11.529 
14,838 

6,194 
19,613 

9.878 
15,182 

6,273 
20,275 

9,988 
16,171 
19,315 
17,737 
17,587 
17,953 



COUNTY SEAT 



Aitkin 

Anoka 

Detroit 

Foley 

Bemidji 

Ortonville .... 

Mankato 

New Ulm 

Carlton 

Chaska 

Walker 

Montevideo 
Center City 
Moorhead . . . . , 

Bagley 

Grand Marias. . 

Windom 

Brainerd 

Hastings 

Mantorville 



POPULATION 



Alexandria 

Blue Earth 

Preston 

Albert Lea 

Red Wing 

Elbow Lake 

Minneapolis 

Caledonia 

Park .Rapids 

Cambridge 

Grand Rapids. . 

Jackson 

Mora 

Willmar 

Halloek 

Madison 

Two Harbors 
Le Sueur Center. 

Ivanhoe 

Marshall 

Glencoe 

Warren 

Fairmont 

Litchfield 



146 



COUNTY 



Mille Lacs 

Morrison 

Mower 

Murray 

Nicollet 

Nobles 

Norman 

Olmstead 

Otter Tail 

Pine 

Pipestone 

Polk 

Pope 

Ramsey 

Red Lake 

Redwood 

Renville 

Rice 

Rock 

Roseau 

St. Louis 

Scott 

Sherburne 

Sibley 

Stearns 

Steele 

Stevens 

Swift 

Todd 

Traverse 

Wabasha 

Wadena 

Waseca 

Washington 

Watonwan 

Wilkin 

Winona 

Weight 

Yellow Medicine . . 



POPULATION 



9,876 
24,584 
22,346 
11.715 
14,944 
15,056 
18,176 
22,409 
48,229 
14,869 

9,662 

37,212 

13,364 

206,330 

15,955 
19,034 
24,032 
26,247 

9,729 

11,191 

117,513 

15,094 

7.961 
16,354 
47,120 
16,593 

9,215 
13,575 
24.638 

7,985 
18.710 

9.317 
13,633 
28.884 
11.494 

9.279 
35.836 
29.467 
15.899 



COUNTY SEAT 



Princeton 

Little Falls.... 

Austin 

Slavton 

St. "Peter 

Worthington . . . 

Ada 

Rochester 

Fergus Falls . . . 

Pine City 

Pipestone 

Crookston 

Glenwood 

St. Paul 

Reel Lake Falls. 
Redwood Falls . . 

Olivia 

Faribault 

Luverne 

Roseau 

Duluth 

Shakopee 

Elk River 

Henderson 

St. Cloud 

Owatonna 

Morris 

Benson 

Long Prairie. . . 

Wheaton 

Wabasha 

Wadena 

Waseca 

Stillwater 

St. James 

Breckenridge . . 

Winona 

Buffalo 

Granite Falls . . 



Indians not included ....2.511 



Total 



POPULATION 



1,704 

5,856 
6,489 
839 
4,514 
2,276 
1,515 
7,233 
6,692 
1,092 
2,885 
6,794 
1,718 
197,023 
1,797 
1,806 
1,019 
8,279 
2,272 
486 

64,942 
2,069 
787 
820 
7,661 
5,651 
2,003 
1,766 
1,256 
1,346 
2,619 
1,868 
2,838 

12,435 
2,320 
1,850 

20.334 
1.124 
1,041 

1,979,912 



147 



INDEX. 



(The references are to sections except where otherwise indicated.) 



Administrative Boards and 

appointed officers, 36. 
American exploration, 10. 
Annual school meeting, 72. 
Appendix, p. 144. 
Arbitration, p. 55. 
Assessment of property, 75. 
Attorney General, 34. 
Attorneys, 47. 
Auditor of State, 32. 

Ballots, 105. 

Benevolent institutions, p. 88. 

Board of county commission- 
ers, p. 53. 

Boards for state institutions, 
p. 48. 

Capitol Building, p. 35. 

Citizen and elector, 19. 

City hall and court house at 

Minneapolis, p. 57. 
City prisons, 98. 
City officers, 70. 
Classification of cities, p. 66. 
Clerks of courts, 46. 
Collection of taxes, 77. 
Committees, 24. 
Compulsory education, 84. 
Contested elections, 111. 
Control and maintenance of 

higher state schools, 90. 



149 



Conventions, 104. 

Council, 70. 

Counting votes, 109. 

County, 51. 

County officers, 52. 

County auditor, 54. 

County treasurer, 55. 

County register of deeds, 56. 

County sheriff, 57. 

County attorney, 58. 

County coroner, 59. 

County surveyor, 60. 

County superintendent of 

schools, 61. 
County jail, 99. 
Constitution of Minnesota, 102. 
Counties and county-seats, 146. 

Delinquent classes, 97. 
Dependent classes, 95. 
Defective classes, 92. 
Departments of government, 

20. 
District court, 41. 
Determining the results of 

elections, 109. 

Elections, p. 94. 
Election officers, 107. 
English exploration, 9. 
Equalization of assessment, 76. 
Executive department, 28. 



150 



INDEX. 



Executive officers of the courts, 
45. 

French exploration and set- 
tlement, 8. 
Ft. Snelling, p. 16. 
Future for the state, 18. 

Government, 5. 

Governor, 29. 

Government of Minnesota be- 
fore 1858, p. 18. 

Governors of Minnesota, p. 
144. 

Graded and semi-graded 
schools, 82. 

Great seal, p. 32. 

Higher and professional edu- 
cation, p. 84. 
High school at Duluth, p. 79. 
Historical sketch of Minne- 
sota, p. 12. 
How laws are made, 26. 

Importance of local govern- 
ment, 6. 
Incorporations of villages, 67. 

Judicial department, p. 50. 
Judicial power, 39. 
Justice's court, 42. 

Kindergarten, 82. 
Kinds and value of teachers' 
certificates, 82. 

Land, 2. 

Laws, 4. 

Legislative department, p. 34. 

Legislative power, 21. 



Legislature, 22. 
Lieutenant Governor, 30. 
Licensing of teachers, 86. 
Local government, 50. 

Mayor, 70. 
Militia, 38. 
Minnesota in military affairs, 

15. 
Miscellaneous judicial matters, 

49. 
Municipality, 66. 
Municipal court, 44. 

Nomination of candidates, 

104. 
Notaries public, 37. 

Officer elect, 112. 
Organization of the state of 
Minnesota, 14. 

Penal and reformatory in- 
stitutions, 91. 
Penitentiary, 102. 
People, 3. 

Primary election, 104. 
Probate court, 43. 
Public education, p. 76. 
Public indebtedness, 78. 
Public revenue, p. 69. 

Railroads, 16. 

Ramsey, Alexander, p. 10. 

Railroad and warehouse com- 
mission, 35. 

Resources of the state, 17. 

Restrictions on law making, 27. 

Revenue for the support of 
schools, 85. 

Rural schools, 81. 



INDEX. 



151 



Safeguards against frauds 
in elections, 110. 

Sanitarium for consumptives, 
p. 90. 

School directors, 73. 

School district, 71. 

Secondary or high school, 83. 

Secretary of State, 31. 

Sibley, Henry H., p. 22. 

Sources of income, 74. 

Soldiers and Sailors' Home, p. 
90. 

Special schools, 87. 

State, definition of, 1. 

State normal schools, 88. 

State public school, 96. 

State reformatory, 101. 

State university, pp. 85-89. 

Superintendent of public in- 
struction, p. 45. 



State training school for boys 

and girls, 100. 
Supreme court, 40. 
Supervision of schools, 79. 

TowNsniPS, 62. 
Town meeting, 64. 
Town officers' duties, 65. 
Trial by impeachment, p. 55. 
Trial by jury, 48. 
Trial by referees, p. 55. 

Village, p. 64. 
Village officers, 68. 
Voters and voting, 108. 

What the legislature does, 
25. 



JAN 4 1*0/ 



